Spur Of the Moment
by shy1214
Summary: this is the first part, there will be a second part later. its just a story about what might happen if hyde had made a different choice and said a different thing at one point early on.
1. Chapter 1

I own nothing

A/N this story is going to be kind of cheesy, but it sounded cute when I thought about it so I figured 'why not?' I'll be honest, my hopes for this aren't high, but sometimes you got to try anyway,

There was no way out, he was trapped in the dinky cabin surrounded by snow with no car, it was hopeless! He was trapped there in the living room, with her!

All she had done for hours, was cry!

He got it, he really did, kelso had cheated on her with a skank and she was heartbroken, but did that really mean he had to be nice and listen to the crying all night while he just wanted to relax in front of the fire with her dad's cognac and plan his next move with donna?

He had tried to comfort her in a way, but him pointing out that pam Macey would give it up to anyone hadn't worked like he'd hoped, and the crying continued. Donna had emerged from the room with she and Forman shared, long enough to yell at him for being an insensitive jerk and offering Jackie some platitudes, that he could read in her eyes she wasn't falling for.

But then donna had left again, and it was just the two of them again, and she was crying again, but softer this time? The loud attention seeking sobs he could ignore, but this was real, this was pain.

"look Jackie man, I know it sucks and all, but if he could do this after being together for nine months" he knew this because he'd gotten to hear her loudly proclaiming how much time he'd thrown away "then aren't you better off?" he put the question to her seriously, going so far as to lean forward in his chair and abandon his magazine.

Jackie looked up at him with tear filled eyes and blinked while she processed what he was asking

"am I Hyde? How do you figure? No one likes me, don't give me that look! You think I can't hear you all when I leave the room? I have excellent hearing and I know what you all think about me, just like I know Michael promises to break up with me when you ask him to. But he's also the only boy who asked me out before they knew I had money, sure he mooches now but it still stands that he asked me because he thought I was pretty" she explained in a soft throaty tone he hadn't known her mouth could produce, considering how shrill she usually was.

"I uh…I'm sorry man, I shouldn't have talked behind your back" Hyde apologized uncomfortably, he prided himself on being upfront and realizing he'd acted like a back-biting cheerleader was hard to stomach.

"not that it made it any easier to hear, but everything I heard you say about me you'd already said to my face…. unlike other people" she added darkly, and he just barely caught her eyes flash to the door donna and Eric were behind.

"I guess that's something?" Hyde muttered awkwardly

"guess it is" Jackie agreed sadly and pulled the pillow she held tightly against her chest.

"you know he'll apologize the next time you see him, right? Kelso's like that, he doesn't mean to be an ass, it's just that his brain can't handle more than one concept at a time" Hyde tried to make her feel better while still having his friends back.

"like the concepts of being horny and not cheating?" Jackie asked with a flash of anger

Hyde stared at her blankly, facing the choice of betraying a friend and being a liar, and he only approved of lying if it was to those in power.

"those would be a good example of what I mean, yes" Hyde admitted with a sigh.

"thought so" Jackie laughed a short humorless laugh,

"so, are you going to take him back when he shows up again saying sorry and whining like a puppy?" Hyde asked with a sneer, he didn't condone what his friend had done, most kids whose dad bailed for a girlfriend tend to have a problem with cheating, but his real contempt laid with the women who chose to believe the lies and take cheaters back, just like his mom had.

"well it's that or going back to hanging out with the cheer team, fending off football players who get handsy after two beers" Jackie said bitterly, and Hyde found himself wondering if there were any upsides to being a chick? Cus so far it sounded like a raw deal.

"are those the only two options?" Hyde asked disbelievingly, sure he wasn't up on Jackie's social status, but she had to have more than that to work with?

"I could move" she said with a hopeless shrug

He knew she was joking, but it still made his gut twist, Jackie moving away and never piercing his eardrum with her shrill bossy chatter ever again? Such an idea should have been like heaven on earth, but he found himself wanting to take that option off the table – joke or not – without really knowing why.

"be my girlfriend" he said suddenly, with a flash of ingenuity

Jackie gaped at him in utterly frozen shock.

"I'm offering to be the third option until you get over kelso and stuff" he offered already knowing it would probably blow up in his face, being nice always did.

"you hate me" Jackie pointed out the obvious flaw in his plan

"give me a reason not to" he said bluntly

"doing that would imply that I want to take you up on the offer, and I don't know that I do? You're poor and scruffy and….all you do is make fun of me" she ended her statement in a much smaller voice than she'd started it in, and for once he saw her not as a rich, spoiled bossy pain in his ass, but as a really young woman who didn't have anyone she could turn to when she had a problem, and when you don't have one person you can wholly trust maybe you spread your problems across a lot of people that don't care?

Hyde didn't get it? But to his continued surprise, he still wanted to help her out, so he decided to level with her as much as a guy like him was able to.

"look man, it'll help me out to" he said seriously

"oh really? How's that?" Jackie asked disbelievingly

"cus I got to stop this thing with donna man" he told her the truth in a low self-loathing whisper.

Jackie stared into his eyes, sizing him up and searching for the truth.

"explain" she ordered in a clipped tone.

"every day I wake up and I tell myself I'm done chasing her, I'm done wanting her, Forman loves her man and he's my best friend I can't dog him like that, but then I do it again! Every damn time I can't help myself! But maybe…" he trailed off hopelessly

"maybe if you had a girlfriend it would distract you enough that you'd get over it and not risk your friendships with either of them?" Jackie supplied softly

"yeah" Hyde breathed miserably, how the hell had it turned into him being the one that needed consoling?

"the thing about lies Hyde, is that people find them out and then you're worse off than before" Jackie pointed out heavily, her insight taking him off guard.

"I'm not talking about some elaborate lie Jackie"

"you're not?" she almost squeaked

"no man! I'm freaking asking you to be my girlfriend until were both back on our feet!" he snapped

"so, an arrangement of convenience?" she asked thoughtfully, mulling over the possibilities

"if that's what you want to call it, sure?"

"you can't cheat on me" Jackie said firmly

"same goes for you, I don't care what bullshit line kelso turns up with, while were together I won't end up the fool in it, we clear?" he said sternly

"I don't cheat!" Jackie fumed, highly offended

"you haven't been faced with a situation where you're truly tempted to!" Hyde countered vehemently

Jackie glared back at him, but eventually bowed her head, she knew what he said was right – it's easy to be strong in your beliefs when they've never been challenged.

"everyone's going to think I got with you to make him jealous, they'll all be waiting for me to run back to him the minute he begs" Jackie said quietly, toying with her finger nails in a clear indication of discomfort with the whole notion.

"you left out the part where they're going to think you paid me" Hyde grinned

Jackie looked sick at the thought, but couldn't argue its validity, Hyde was known to despise her.

"so how is this an attractive offer for me again?" Jackie asked with a sniff against the returning tears.

"I'll make sure they don't think it for long" he promised with a cocky smirk, he had an idea of how they could convince anyone around them how serious they were, even if it was nothing but a mutually beneficial arrangement.

"and how do you plan to do that?" she asked bluntly

"I figure seeing us together will convince most people that were 'together', there'll be some talk at first – there always is, but if we learn to get along with each other everyone'll shut up soon enough" Hyde said thoughtfully

"that's a good point Hyde, we don't get along." She said bluntly, her expression losing the small hope he'd given her.

"yeah, I know, but why don't we get along? "he prompted with an encouraging look

"because you're mean and poor and only like sleazy rocker girls and lumberjacks?" Jackie asked blankly, she really didn't know why they couldn't manage to get along for more than thirty seconds without firing insults at each other? When she'd first started going to the basement she'd thought he was really cool, but he hadn't returned the sentiment and she refused to beg for acceptance.

"see, it's when you say stuff like that that we run into trouble" Hyde sighed "being rich doesn't make you better than anyone else, it does however, make you spoiled and that's not a trait of yours I enjoy dealing with, there are times when I almost like you but you have a tendency to ruin it with your big mouth" he said in a tone that was strangely not mean, but like he was trying to illustrate how she alienated people accidentally as often as she did.

"well what about you? Even when I try to be friendly to you, you just laugh at me and burn me so everyone else laughs at me too" Jackie shot back defiantly, she knew she was difficult but she refused to take all the blame. "face it Hyde, the real problem with your plan is that you've never thought I was cool enough to hang around you, well, I may finish all my homework early, and I may have never gotten in trouble and I may be a square by your standards, but I am who I am and I don't apologize for it" Jackie informed him angrily, she was just about done with people telling her what was wrong with her! All she ever heard was what she should do, what she should stop doing, what she'd done wrong – she wasn't a terrible person! But she sure was treated like one.

"and that's the part of you I like until you start chattering about Andy Gibb" Hyde replied with a grin, but quickly went serious again "we've got to work out a way to not drive each other nuts" Hyde told her reasonably

"no offense, but I'm starting to think the hassle of this plan far outweighs the benefit" Jackie said with a sad sigh, she agreed that they both needed a way to move on, but Hyde's plan seemed un doable.

Hyde didn't speak when Jackie said this, instead he pulled his shades off his face and set them on the nearby table, and looked at her with a solemn expression she'd never seen on his face before.

"I came up here to try and get between donna and Forman, it backfired and now both are pissed at me, my whole life I've been called worthless and told that I'd never be a decent person, and I never believed it until I found myself trying to steal the girl my best friend loves, but I can't help myself, so I'm asking you to help me! Please Jackie, I promise I won't be a dick to you or humiliate you in front of your friends if you promise to treat me like an equal not a servant, and talk to me instead of at me" he proposed his terms without any of his usual sarcasm, and Jackie found herself wanting to help him.

Jackie rubbed her eyes wearily, it had been a long draining day and she wasn't sure she was in the best place to be making a decision like this? But the fact that Hyde wasn't suggesting an elaborate ruse to convince people they were dating, while still warring with each other, made her wonder if it might be worth it? He wasn't bad looking she thought objectively, and when he wanted to be he could be fun to be around, and privately Jackie admitted that she wasn't a very likable person but maybe Hyde could teach her how to be a bit more likable?

She didn't care what people said about her, or what they thought, but she liked the idea of having real friends, instead of the phony ones she'd always had, Hyde had real friends, maybe he'd share his secret?

"so, if I'm not bossy or spoiled, you'll be my friend?" she asked in a very small voice that he could hear the hopeful note in.

"no doll face, I'll be your boyfriend" he clarified with a grin,

"Hyde, are you forgetting that couples are expected to touch each other, kiss even?" she pointed out the main flaw in his plan, he could talk all he wanted but the fact of the matter was he'd mentioned on several occasions how repulsive he found her.

Hyde felt his mouth go dry, he'd have to lay all his cards on the table now to put her worries to rest, and considering how many of his secrets she now knew, he had to get her on board.

"it won't be a problem" he assured her off handedly

"oh, well if you say so of course I trust that implicitly" Jackie drawled with a very unimpressed expression

Hyde scrubbed his face with the heels of his hands and took a deep breath before trying again.

"it's not a big deal, we'll practice and besides, you're…kinda cute" he bailed on what he'd been about to say at the last second, it would expose him too much.

"practice how?" Jackie asked with a mixture of apprehension and confusion.

"like this" Hyde replied with a determined expression and crossed to the small sofa she sat on.

Jackie's heart was pounding out of her chest with fear, but she stayed quiet and waited to see what he meant.

Slowly enough that she could stop him if she chose, Hyde began leaning closer and closer to Jackie's face, when his lips were almost touching hers he paused.

"yes or no?" he whispered softly, giving her the chance to stop him.

"I don't know?" she breathed honestly,

Hyde chuckled softly at her indecision, she was a born romantic so she didn't want to even kiss a boy she didn't have a preexisting interest in, but she was also curios as the proverbial cat and those traits were at war with each other.

Vowing silently that he'd stop the second she wanted, Hyde closed the final distance and pressed his lips gently to Jackie's.

She was soft and warm, and tasted salty from all the tears and he would be lying if he tried to say he hated it.

Jackie's breath caught when he kissed her, she'd only ever kissed Kelso before, and that had always been frantic and a little wet now that she had something to compare it to.

Neither called a stop, but it remained chaste and tongue free as they hesitantly shifted their relationship from antipathy to whatever it would become now?

Finally, Hyde pulled away to breath, and found to his embarrassment, he couldn't meet Jackie's gaze afterwards. While Jackie was starting intently at him, her mind working in over drive.

"so, what did you think?" he asked gruffly after a while, he couldn't take wondering what she thought another second, he had his pride after all.

"I think – "but she didn't get to finish her thought,

The door burst open to reveal Kelso, covered in snow holding a passed out mostly naked Fez, before she could.

"Michael?!" Jackie shrieked in surprise, but Hyde noted that she didn't jump guiltily away from him?

"Jackie, I'm so sorry baby! It'll never happen again I promise" he told her in the sweet sappy voice that he always used to get her to forgive him when he screwed up, but this wasn't ruining a dinner she'd begged for him to attend, this wasn't destroying her favorite shoes with one of his experiments, he'd kissed another girl in front of the whole school, and it had humiliated her because for all her bragging they all knew now her deepest secret – no one gave a damn about her.

"I know it won't Michael" she agreed calmly

"oh awesome!" he cheered, dropping fez on the floor in his rush to get to her, but was stopped in his tracks by a very immovable Hyde blocking his path to Jackie.

"Hyde, move" kelso laughed and tried to shove past his friend

"her call man" Hyde told him and shot a questioning look at Jackie, she read instantly what he was asking.

Was she in or was she out?

There was no more discussing the pros and cons, it had to be now or never, and no one could make the decision but her.

"Michael, I know it won't happen again because we broke up and were staying broken up, you cheated on me and there's no pronunciation of sorry that fixes that!" she shouted at him standing firm in her decision to end their relationship for good.

"baby, if Hyde will just let me come over there I can explain and make this all better" Kelso whined like a puppy, just as Hyde said he would.

"why would I do that?" Hyde asked, raising an eyebrow curiously

"because she's MY girlfriend Hyde and we have stuff to talk about!" Kelso cried indignantly

"she's not your girlfriend any more" Hyde reminded him, then smirked "but she is mine" he dropped the four words casually, but the effect was like he'd screamed them in a crowded town square.

Kelso gaped at him while emitting a high-pitched scream, that was almost too high for humans to hear, which drew donna and Forman out of the bedroom to see what had happened?

They found Hyde and Kelso standing toe to toe, Hyde with his arms crossed purposefully and Jackie safely ensconced in the couch behind him while Kelso stared accusingly at them like they'd set a bunny on fire?

Fez was also naked on the floor, but that was the least of their worries just then.

"what's going on here?" Forman asked carefully, he wasn't in the mood to deal with a major problem just then.

"that's a good question Eric?! Why don't you ask Hyde what's going on?!" Kelso shrieked

"uh, Kelso buddy? I already did, when I came out just now and said 'what's going on here?' to the room at large, so how about someone tells Donna and I why you're both standing there like you're about to bare knuckle box?" Forman drawled irritably, it was late and he was tired and kelso's whining set his teeth on edge.

"because Eric! My ex friend Hyde here, just tried to say that he and Jackie are dating now!" Kelso screamed, waving his arms dramatically and leaning further in towards Hyde, who remained calm and unphased.

"come again?" donna said in a clipped surprised tone

"yeah Kelso, come on man, that's crazy. Hyde tell him it was a joke so he calms down and we can all get some sleep" Forman said with a laugh and waved Hyde to get on with it.

"no can do Forman" Hyde replied blankly

"why not Hyde?" Forman asked beginning to sound worried

"'cus it's the truth" he stated firmly

"no no no, that can't be true, because you two hate each other" donna denied what he'd said vehemently, shaking her head.

"no, we don't" Jackie and Hyde snapped in united annoyance.

"it's none of your business pinciotti" Hyde told her with all the calm at his disposal, he bit the inside of his cheek to keep from looking at her for signs of jealousy or regret, mostly because he knew he wouldn't see what he hoped for.

"oh, my god, you guys mean it! They actually got together!" donna cried in dismay

"of course, they did" came a slurred voice from the floor "they just told you that, don't you listen?!" Fez asked irritably, why did none of them listen to what people said? He'd been half passed out when Hyde had informed Kelso that Jackie was no longer his girlfriend, but Hyde's, and he had still been able to hear the note of truth in Hyde's voice when he'd spoken the words, it was like they were incapable of hearing a damn thing they didn't want to?!

"Jackie what the hell?!" donna cried at the smaller girl

"what are you bitching about now?" Jackie asked the annoyance in her voice hard to miss, so much so that donna recoiled a bit, she wasn't used to Jackie sounding that way.

"I…uh? I didn't know you two thought of each other like that?" donna tried to recover and save some face.

"we didn't, until we did" Jackie said with a shrug of her small shoulder, it had the benefit of being true, something that made Hyde flash her an approving smile.

"yeah, I asked her she said yes, that's all any of you need or have the right to know." Hyde told them all bluntly, his business was his business and this was not an instance where he was going to put up with his friends prying nature.

If their plan had a chance of working they needed to avoid scrutiny in the beginning, and scaring the crap out of them all was the only way he had to do that. But already his certainty that his plan had merit was confirmed, both he and Jackie were so pissed off at the people they wanted to stop harboring feelings for, that they were in no imminent danger of falling into their usual ways.

"since all of you want to act like a bunch of dill holes in MY cabin, you can all share the floor out here!" Jackie told their friends coldly, and stood up to head towards the room originally occupied by Forman and donna, a tiny twitch of her fingers signaled Hyde that he was to follow and without missing a beat, he walked briskly to her side and glanced at their shocked faces, before slamming the door in them.

Jackie heaved a few deep breaths after the nerve racking encounter, then turned the lock on the door as an afterthought.

"that went better than I expected" Hyde noted as he sat on the edge of the bed and began pulling his boots off. It was late and he was just about worn out for the day.

"that was better than you expected?" Jackie asked surprised "they barely bought it, how are we supposed to keep this up with them questioning us every second?" she asked in a tight whisper.

"you're forgetting the main point Jackie" Hyde said calmly "were not selling anything here, you and I are honest to god boyfriend and girlfriend now, they can question us and be suspicious all they please, but it won't matter - because were not lying." He reminded her again that it wasn't an elaborate lie to the world, he had asked her out albeit with some out of the ordinary circumstances.

"but how is that even going to work?" she asked while she undressed awkwardly under a nightgown she'd pulled out of the dresser "we don't have the same ideas about what going out means, I usually think of dates and gifts and going to events and dances, and you…what do you consider 'dating'?" she asked frowning with confusion, she had no idea what his views on it were, because when it came right down to brass tacks – she and Hyde didn't know each other very well.

"I've never really dated anyone before, so were going to have to play that by ear, a lot of the stuff you expect probably isn't going to happen, but I'll make an exception here and there" he mused while she crawled into the bed next to him, keeping a safe distance between them.

"so, I should lower my standards dramatically, is what you're saying?" Jackie asked dryly

"that seems like the safest thing yes" Hyde told her with a grin

Jackie turned slightly, and looked at him with large worried eyes "are we just setting ourselves up to be miserable just so we can get over people that don't give us a second thought?" she asked in a small scared voice that made him want to protect her from every damn thing in the world.

"it's not going to be easy, but look at it this way – most people start off liking each other and having fun while they get to know each other, then after they do know each other then they start to hate each other and break up. Were just working in reverse" he said thoughtfully

"you mean like, were starting from the place people usually break up and working towards liking each other and being happy?" Jackie asked trying to wrap her head around the insane concept.

"yeah man, we already know each other and we've never gotten along, but now were going to try because, let's face it, we both need to take a step back from the gang before we get eaten alive" Hyde told her heavily,

She could hear the underlying tone of hopeless desperation in his voice and it brought her up short, he'd said over and over how he needed her to help him get over donna to save his friendship with Forman, but it was only just starting to sink in how truly important that was to Hyde.

"do you really think I'll be enough to distract you from donna until you get over her?" Jackie asked in a small unsure voice, her pride hadn't yet returned from being cheated on and she didn't have the sense of self-worth she usually did.

Hyde stared at her while he thought over the question, until finally he sweetly tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled "if you can't, no one can" he told her quietly.

Soon they agreed that sleep was in order and they'd work out the details of what being together would mean for them – who had such different day to day lives – later.

The car ride home the next day wasn't the most fun Jackie and Hyde had ever had, not by a long shot. They'd agreed that morning before they packed up, that their best hope for pulling off their agreement, was to find some common ground so that spending time together didn't make them want to commit murder. So, when they'd started driving they'd attempted to talk quietly in the back where they were seated together, and try their damndist to come up with things they could do that didn't make the other miserable.

However, their friends made this nearly impossible by randomly shouting about how – weird, creepy, uncool, them dating was. Kelso maintained for many miles, in a loud grating tone, how wrong and against the code Hyde dating Jackie was, while Hyde simply rolled his eyes and calmly reminded him that he'd cheated on Jackie and that made her a free agent – which led to him explaining very quietly to her what a free agent was.

Fez randomly asked them to make out so he could watch, to which Forman would loudly proclaim his car a make out free zone for the duration of the trip home, while Donna just shot them the occasional suspicious look.

Hyde figured of all of them she'd be the least likely to accept what they said, seeing as how he'd tried to tell her once again how he felt about her less than an hour before he asked Jackie to be his girlfriend. His mind betrayed him and began weaving scenarios of donna coming to him and saying him dating Jackie had made her realize her own feeling for him, and he'd start to think of ways he could use Jackie to speed that process along.

But then, he'd shake himself and remember that it wasn't an elaborate lie to get the people they really wanted, they were partners in agony and he couldn't do that to the poor kid. She was like his spotter at the gym…. or his AA sponsor, she was there to save him from himself and vice versa. If they didn't break away from the path they'd been on, they were at risk of turning into people they hated, weak, sleazy people who hurt those they loved just to get what they wanted.

He didn't want to tell Jackie that the reason he'd been so confident in her being the best solution to his problem was, when she wasn't being a spoiled brat she was freakin' beautiful. And he kind of, sort of…. liked her smile…a little tiny bit.

She was a tornado of a person, she blew into a room and laid everything low in her path, he needed that to distract himself from his thoughts, because his thoughts always made him think he HAD to get donna for himself, but he'd seen the look of hurt and betrayal in Forman's eyes, and he couldn't bare to be that guy.

Then he glanced at Jackie where she was quietly writing a list of possible activities they could do together, it had been his idea – make a plan of attack to avoid mine fields like loud vicious arguments that would ruin their goal before they even got started. She was too engrossed in what she was doing to notice him watching her which gave him a rare opportunity to observe the silent Jackie.

She was so very small, it was easy to forget that or be distracted when she spoke, because her personality was so big, but with her tiny perfect face framed by the fur of her coats collar, he began to wonder why everyone was so mean to her? Yeah, she was one of the more annoying people you were likely to meet, but if you stopped and paid attention for just a second you saw that she was so young, and so eager for friends all you really needed to do to get her to stop her annoying crap was maybe just ask?

"hey Jackie" Hyde whispered softly

"yeah?" she answered absently while she chewed on her pencil eraser, deep in thought about what else they could do together in such a small town.

"don't worry too much about the list man, we'll start out just hanging out most days" he tried to ease the tension he saw in her face.

Jackie looked up at him, then back at her list, then shrugged and put it in her purse.

"I'm tired" she told him softly, she couldn't risk Kelso hearing and going into another diatribe about how they must have done it, just because they'd shared a bed through the night.

Hyde knew it was just an offhand comment, something to say just to say something, but after a split second of hesitation he shifted in his seat and laid his arm across the back of the bench.

"here, you can lean against me" he offered gruffly

Jackie blinked at him with surprise, but didn't say anything, just settled against him with her head on his shoulder, but when his arm curled around her she felt her heart start hammering in her chest.

"didn't expect that" Jackie murmured into his jacket shoulder

"go big, or go home doll face" Hyde muttered awkwardly.

It was going to take a lot of work and patience for them to last more than a week as a couple, they'd been enemies so long it was hard not to spit insults at each other at the least provocation, and then there was the part where they were working hard to find something – anything they liked about the other, instead of the usual formula in dating. But Hyde didn't mind the way it felt to have her snuggled into his chest, and he hadn't minded the way it had felt to kiss her. Sure, she was a gorgeous amazon like donna, but when she chilled out and didn't run her mouth she wasn't too bad to be around.

Jackie was surprised at just how quickly she fell asleep in Hyde's arms, or at least, she was when she woke up back in the Forman's driveway.

The first week of their arrangement was not what either would call easy, they were watched like hawks at school and in the basement, there was a none too subtle pool about them being run at school as to what their real deal was?

But they both did their best to ignore it and work on getting along, because they were having some trouble managing it. The day Jackie had picked to go over possible things they could do had been one where Hyde happened to be in a very bad mood, she'd asked him why, but he'd just grunted something at her and sat on his bed (their strategy sessions were usually held at his house because there was never anyone there), he didn't want to tell his girlfriend about how watching Forman and donna wrestle around when they'd seen the commercial for the wrestling show, had made his chest tight and made it hard to breath.

He had to hand it to Jackie, she was really trying. She didn't say a word when she'd entered his crappy dirty home to discuss what they could stand to do together, sure the look on her face had said volumes, but she'd kept any cruel comments to herself, he was almost proud of her. He'd also been surprised when she'd begun greeting him with a kiss, she'd explained that if it was they were legitimately dating it stood to reason she'd kiss him when she saw him.

What she didn't say was it was also her way of reminding herself he was her boyfriend now, because her mind kept trying to tell her Michael was still her boyfriend, she hated that she still had feeling for him or that she missed him at all! He treated her badly, she should hate him, except she didn't part of the time, but Hyde was there to help her stay strong.

"in movies and crap the guy in my position always says something like 'if you really want to be with him I understand, I just want you to be happy' but I aint that guy doll, we made a deal and were not going to cave so soon" he told her firmly when she'd admitted her problem to him after a lot of prodding on his part.

"I know! Ok, I know, it's just…. I love him" she told Hyde in a small voice

"no, you don't" he said quickly and certainly

"how would you know?!" Jackie snapped angrily, she was just a bit sick of him always acting so cool about everything, feeling was hard and it made it harder when the only person you had to talk to acted like they didn't feel anything.

"because he never did a damn thing that deserved love from you, you might like him a whole lot, you might feel puppy love or infatuation, but I've seen love up close and doll – that aint what you two had" he told her bluntly,

"who?" Jackie asked softly

"who, what?" he asked blankly

"who have you seen up close that's truly in love?" she pressed curiously, half expecting him to say donna and Eric, or how he felt about donna, but instead he laughed softly to himself and gave her a steady look.

"Mr. and Mrs. Forman"

She hadn't been expecting that, but she couldn't fault his logic, they set the proverbial bar and she knew it as well as he did.

"how long are we going to try this whole thing out?" Jackie asked then, and took a seat on the corner of his rumpled bed.

"what do you mean?" Hyde asked with a frown, not quiet following her

"I mean, it's been a long week being a 'couple', and I don't know about you but I'm not any closer to being over Micha- Kelso, and I saw you staring at Donna from behind your shades yesterday at lunch, so what I'm saying is, how long are we going to try this system before we give up?" she asked again more clearly, and with a definite current of sadness and defeat.

"do you want to quit already?" he asked in a tight voice, he knew what she said was true, but he felt oddly hurt that she was already willing to throw in the towel.

Jackie's large mis - matched eyes met his and he saw all the hurt and worry she felt in them.

"you don't like me Hyde" she said bluntly and unemotionally "and being cheated on was terrible, but having a boyfriend who wants someone else isn't actually much better as it turns out" she told him in a mature tone he'd never have expected out of her.

"look man, I'm sorry if I'm hurting you, I really thought this would help us both out" he admitted reluctantly

"and I agreed with you, but now the reality is that I have a boyfriend but in name only, I keep trying to get you to act more like a normal boyfriend and I know that's not your scene, but were in this together and it's not fair that it's all on your terms, and don't for a second think that I haven't noticed that you forget I'm there when donna's talking to you!" she said with the first hint of feeling she'd shown so far, and not surprisingly it was anger.

Before Hyde could respond, Jackie got up off the bed and began gathering her things to leave.

"are you breaking up with me?" Hyde asked trying hard to sound casual about it, but he felt bile rising in his throat at the idea.

Jackie turned to him and her face was unreadable

"I may be a spoiled brat, but I don't deserve to be treated this way by you or Michael or anyone, we decided to try being together because in a weird confusing way, we were perfect for each other. But I'm not breaking up with you because to do that you would have had to have been with me from the start, and you haven't even given me a chance. Face, it Steven, all I am to you is a beard so Forman will think you're not after donna anymore, all your crap about wanting to get over her is bullshit! As far as I've seen this 'relationship' is everything you swore it wasn't, I'm a prop to make donna jealous so she'll want you back, and who gives a damn if Jackie Burkhart gets used and abused!?" and with that Jackie spun on her heal and left the room, slamming the door behind her and leaving Hyde sitting on the edge of his bed stunned but with a lot to think about.

He'd treated her almost as bad as kelso had, which was the exact reason he'd used to convince her to help him out – that he'd treat her better! One week in and he'd already fucked that up, and the worst part was that he had to admit she hadn't acted like a spoiled annoying brat hardly at all in that week. She'd tried hard to keep her voice soft, and to ask him about bands she didn't know about instead of yammering about disco all day, she'd suggested a variety of activities she'd thought he might like instead of just her own tastes, but he'd said no to everything, even stuff he liked just because he'd been in a bad mood.

He owed her an apology at the very least, and he'd understand if she wanted to break off their arrangement already, it wasn't like they'd had a set timeline or anything, it was basically 'go out until we can't stand each other anymore' leave it to him to achieve that in seven days.

While he sat there thinking about everything Jackie had said, he realized not only that he owed her and apology, but that he didn't want to break up already? But that wasn't something he wanted to look too closely at just then, all he knew was that he'd told her she wasn't a lie he'd just lost sight of that for a while.

After about an hour of thinking, Hyde knew what he had to do.

The next day at school he strode into the cafeteria with a purpose uncommon for him, and stopped to search for Jackie in the crowded room. It was harder to spot her than usual because usually you could hear her voice across the room or spot her vibrant outfits a mile away. But today it took him longer, he finally spotted her sitting at the table with his friends, looking small and strangely subdued?

But the part that made anger flare in his chest, was that Kelso had his arm draped around Jackie while he talked to her!

Hyde stormed across the intervening space and yanked Kelso's lanky arm off of Jackie, who'd been trying hard to ignore it, and twisted the arm while growling at his stupid friend.

"what the hell do you think you're doing touching my girlfriend Kelso?" he demanded dangerously

"I uh… I was just asking Jackie what she was doing on valentine's day" Kelso admitted lamely, they both knew there was nothing innocent about what he'd been doing.

"gee kelso, what do you think MY girlfriend might be doing on valentine's day?" Hyde began in a frighteningly calm voice "do you think maybe she's going to be going out with me – her boyfriend – to celebrate? Did that possibility cross your mind?" Hyde seethed from between his clenched teeth.

"uh…" was all Kelso managed to get out before Hyde propelled him out of the seat beside Jackie and took it himself.

"hey doll" he greeted her kindly, then put his hand gently on her face and pulled her into a soft kiss,

"hi" she said shortly when they'd pulled away from each other, he could see that she was surprised and confused, but wasn't going to call him out in front of everybody, after all he'd put her through she still had his back?

"so, valentine's day huh? What do you want to do?" he asked casually, but watched the excited light start to gleam in Jackie's eyes.

He was bracing himself for a long nauseating list of tacky romantic gestures to pour out of her, but it was her turn to shock the hell out of him now.

"I thought maybe we could get some dinner at that little Italian place on tanner? Then there's a showing of Casablanca at the classic theater that night" she suggested, looking worried he'd hate her ideas, but not only was the restaurant she'd mentioned one he liked and could almost afford, but he was a fan of Humphry bogart and thought that sounded like a pretty decent date.

"sounds great doll, when should I pick you up?" he asked still using his rare sweet tone with her

"my parents always leave for the club at seven on Sundays, so seven thirty?" she suggested to spare him from dealing with her folks, for which he was grateful.

"wait Sunday?" Donna interrupted "aren't we supposed to study on Sunday?" she asked Hyde like he'd broken a promise.

"yeah, until I realized I'd forgotten what day it was, besides, I figured you and Forman had plans?" Hyde replied in an even tone, something about donna's question made him feel a twinge of annoyance?

"we do" Forman confirmed giving donna a curious look, which she refused to meet.

An awkward silence fell across the table, donna and Forman tried to have a conversation though expressions and looks, while Kelso pouted about Hyde and Jackie, whereas Fez just watched them all with a bemused smile on his face, like they were a movie?

After their valentine's date, Hyde and Jackie went back to his house as Edna would be at her favorite bar until well past dawn – if she came home at all.

Jackie felt a little nervous, and had since they'd walked out of the movie theater. She was nervous because Hyde had been looking at her with an expression she didn't understand since about half way through Casablanca. If she had to make a guess, Jackie figured that he'd decided at that point that he simply couldn't date her no matter what was at stake, and was planning how to tell her that because he'd barely spoken since they'd left their seats.

She didn't know why that thought bothered her though? It wasn't like she liked him…. did she? Honestly, she had no idea. There were times when she found herself thinking he was the sweetest guy she'd ever met, but other times she would remember that who he really wanted was donna and she would have to keep herself from crying.

"Steven, is everything ok?" she asked hesitantly after mustering all the courage she could.

Hyde stared at her with that same look and she felt her stomach clench with nerves

"wh-what is it?" she stammered in a whisper, still no answer.

She was about to demand he say something, when with a speed, she hadn't been expecting, he leaned in and caught her lips in a very different sort of kiss than he'd given her before.

She fell back onto his bed with him on top of her, one hand tangled in her hair the other on her waist, when breathing became a necessity Hyde pulled away and gazed at her with that same look.

"you're beautiful" he murmured to her, as if he was as surprised by it as she was.

Jackie smiled sweetly at the compliment, knowing he didn't lie about things to get girls, and reached up to kiss him again.

Half way through the movie Hyde had looked over at Jackie and realized he was happy there with her? He was happy that he was with Jackie? Just as he was trying to figure out what the hell was happening to him, she had offered him her popcorn without a thought while her eyes were still glued to the screen, and later when the couple on screen was saying goodbye, Jackie had grabbed his hand without noticing she had, the effect her tiny hand holding his had on him was …. unexpected.

The more he watched her, the more he found he wanted to be around her, to touch her, to be with her as more than just a boyfriend of need and convenience. So, when she had looked up at him with those huge soulful eyes, it had hit him too hard to ignore and he'd HAD to kiss her.

Their kissing turned into making out very quickly, and by the time Hyde realized they were probably moving too fast for Jackie, neither had shirts and he was in the process of unbuttoning her jeans.

"do you want me to stop?" he asked in a husky whisper, he absolutely loathed the idea of stopping, but he would if she said to.

But Jackie just bit her lip and shyly shook her head that she didn't want that, the look on her face shot straight through Hyde like a jolt of electricity and he had to stifle a groan. He kissed her again, hard, and couldn't contain the next shuddering groan when she opened her mouth and her tongue darted out to meet his, he couldn't think anymore after that and the next thing he knew he was hovering over a naked Jackie, her eyes nervous but her hands running up and down his bare chest.

"do you want to do this doll?" he asked her tenderly

"do you?" she asked biting her lip again

Hyde looked down at her laying there and nearly lost it, but mustered all the self-control he could and kept his voice steady "only if it's what you really want, if you don't its fine, I mean it" he told her seriously, he would not pressure her or make her think she had to sleep with him just because they'd gone this far.

"I want to" she whispered shyly to him and pulled his face down so she could kiss him again.

Going slowly so that she could stop him if she wished, Hyde very carefully crossed the final line between them, with an effort that he'd never imagined possible, he stopped then and looked at her to give the order to stop or keep going?

"ow" she whimpered with her eyes shut tight

"sorry!" he apologized quickly, and started to pull away, but Jackie's small hands on his hips stopped him.

"just, go as slow as you can" she told him and he felt her slowly untensing from the pain he'd caused, until her spine was no longer rigid.

He did as she asked, even though it was nearly impossible, even though every cell in his body screamed to let go and just move how he wanted, but he didn't, not until she cried out his name in a surprised – not pained voice, that was the last clear memory he had of that night.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N so this part starts during 'the pill', of course the universe is the one I'm making…is that how this works? Whatever, anyway, after I re read what I'd already posted I began to worry that the idea wasn't clear enough, so let me be clear – they're not faking a relationship – anyhow if anyone has any suggestions or things they'd like to see, just let me know, I can usually incorporate ideas in.

I don't know how long this is going to run? Right now, my plan is just for season 1 cus that's all I have ideas for.

weeks after valentine's day found Steven j. Hyde sitting in the basement in the same worn out chair as always, his arms crossed over his chest staring at the tv as always, but the thoughts running through his curly head were definitely not the same ones as always. There were no conspiracy theories, no government oppression, just one tiny, loud, opinionated brunette with different colored eyes running rampant through his head.

After their valentine's date, they'd woken up the next day and agreed that they wouldn't talk about what they'd done, Jackie was shaken and Hyde wasn't much better, it had been a big step and even though both had wanted to, they admitted that they hadn't been ready. His problem was that now, for the last week, he hadn't seen or spoken to Jackie? It was confusing at first, until it dawned on him that she had always been the one to initiate contact of any kind. Jackie came to find him at lunch break, Jackie came to the basement or his house to see him, Jackie called him in the evening to see about making plans, he didn't do jack didly.

So, if she wasn't there…it was because she didn't want to see him? That was not a thought he welcomed, in fact, it made his stomach drop in an unpleasant manner.

He knew he was a crappy boyfriend even though he'd promised to give it a real try, but he had found that he just didn't get how it all worked. However, I did know that if you slept together you were supposed to have some sort of contact the next day, or the next seven freaking days! But every time he spotted Jackie at school she either, pretended not to see him and disappeared – or coincidentally didn't see him, but either way it was starting to put cracks in his uncaring façade.

With a grunt that his friends knew better than to comment on, Hyde got up and stormed – as uncaringly as he was able – out of the basement and back to his house. If Jackie wasn't going to call him, well, he'd break his personal code and call her! With his intent, firmly in his mind Hyde marched straight to the yellow rotary phone on the table (it hadn't been a yellow phone when purchased) and picked it up dialing Jackie's number and preparing to wait, since Jackie had mentioned that she screened her phone calls by urgency, and she believed that if people waited until the 8th ring it was something important.

Hyde didn't have to wait until the 8th ring, because there wasn't a first ring, there was however a voice telling him that the call could not be completed as dialed due to service interruption, which was a message he knew all too well, it was a polite way Ma Bell had of telling you you hadn't paid your bill in long enough that your service was suspended!

He would have been a lot more pissed off at Edna about it except that it meant there was a chance Jackie HAD tried to call but couldn't get through. Which also meant that he had to do more leg work, so back to the basement he went, with a parting yell at his mom about not telling him the phone had been shut off he slammed the door and started walking.

When he got to the basement again he found Forman sitting like a statue on the couch looking dazed? He was curious, but not enough to let it distract him from his mission! He had to know why Jackie was suddenly avoiding him, had she decided that she didn't want to have a loser as a boyfriend? Sure, he didn't get her gifts, or take her out, or…. fuck! what did he do that even considered bordering on being 'boyfriendy'?!

The answer was – nothing.

He hung out with her when she showed up, they grabbed food if one of them said they were hungry, and if she suggested an activity that wasn't too distasteful he followed along without any snide comments. But, he was beginning to think there was a big gap between 'not making snide comments' and actually being pleasant company.

But if he was so apathetic about his girlfriend, why was it getting to him so much that he hadn't seen or spoken to her? He was certain that there was an answer to that question, he just wasn't ready to find it.

Finally, he saw Jackie, she showed up at the hub when he and Forman were eating, without a word she took a seat at their table with her basket of food, he was just about to say the line he'd decided on after a good 15 minutes of planning 'hey, how's it going?' (he also suspected he wasn't good under pressure) when Kelso and Fez showed up and made conversation impossible.

After glaring at them for longer than was really necessary, he was about to ask her to leave with him so they could talk, when donna walked in and stopped at the table to say she had to go to the bathroom and asked Jackie to accompany her, Hyde had to hide a smile with how happy that made Jackie, she always tried so hard to be friends with donna and the red head treated all her attempts with disdain, so her doing the girl bathroom thing made Jackie smile like he hadn't seen in a while, to his surprise he missed that smile.

"what do you think that was about?" Kelso asked with his mouth hanging open in his signature smile, which for some reason was really rubbing Hyde the wrong way just then.

"why don't you mind your own business Kelso?!" Forman cried manically, again Hyde was almost curious about what the hell was up with Forman, but decided his time would be better spent eaves dropping on whatever Jackie and donna were discussing.

He knew he'd missed the first part of the conversation before he got to the door, but he sure as hell made it in time to hear donna yell loudly 'Kelso got you pregnant! How could you do that to Hyde?!'

Ice ran through every bone in his body and settled in his heart, but it made him cool and calm as he turned and walked back to the table, where he told Kelso to stand up and promptly laid him out cold on the floor. When he stormed out of the hub Fez was trying to revive Kelso while Jackie and donna stared at the scene from the bathroom's door, he missed the part where Donna called for Forman to come help Kelso, but Forman shrilly said that maybe Kelso had it coming! He was too mad to hear it, that's why she hadn't been around! She'd been cheating on him with fucking Kelso!

After everything with him, all the time and…. that was actually all he could think of, but still! Not only had she cheated and gotten pregnant (he didn't want to think about that at all) but she'd betrayed the very nature of their relationship!

He was back in the basement on his chair, still stewing in righteous anger, when Jackie walked into the basement looking calm and ready talk.

"what do you want?" he growled

"to talk to you" Jackie replied evenly

"nothin' to talk about" he said gruffly and shifted in his seat to look at the tv and not at her.

"Steven, you need to listen to me" she said urgently, but Hyde refused to look at her or even acknowledge her presence.

But Jackie didn't leave, so he decided to make her leave.

"why don't you go find Kelso and screw him behind my back some more?!" he snapped at her

"what are you talking about?" Jackie asked totally confused

"I'm not stupid doll! I heard you and donna in the bathroom, I heard that not only did you break our promise, but the moron knocked you up as well!" he accused angrily – so much for being cool.

But Jackie didn't react how he'd expected, there were no tears or apologies or any of the things one associated with someone when they were caught doing something bad?

"did he now?" Jackie asked with a tilt of her head while she crossed her arms

"I heard donna man! While you were in the bathroom telling her!" he yelled and in his anger stood up and kicked at the table to release some of the fury.

Its contents scattered across the floor, some rolling to Jackie's boots, without changing her expression at all, Jackie stooped and picked up the small candle and straightened back up. She looked Hyde straight in the eye and – chucked the candle directly at his head.

"oh of course! Because donna said it you think it's true! Well let me tell you something Steven Hyde!" she shouted angrier than he'd ever seen her – and that was saying something considering her short temper – and threw an incense burner at him, pegging him in the forehead.

"I didn't confide a damn thing to donna! The only person I told was Forman! And for your information, I didn't have sex with Michael, she came up with that on her own because she thinks so damn highly of me! But I did sleep with you and I am late, so not only is my life as I know it over, but I don't have a damn person to turn to for help!" she told him so far beyond fury that she didn't even wait around to see what impact her words had on him.

She spun on her heel and left the basement, while Hyde fell back into his chair stunned by what he'd just heard. He wasn't sure what he was feeling, but he was sure none of it was righteous, and he was also pretty sure he'd just fucked up royally?

He was still pondering where it had all gone wrong when Forman and donna came in and sat down on the couch.

"man, I cannot believe Jackie" donna began in her superior tone

"what are you talking about?" Forman asked mildly, he hadn't heard what she'd yelled in the bathroom like Hyde had because he hadn't had his ear pressed against the door listening

Donna gave him a condescending look and filled him in on what was happening "Jackie slept with Kelso and now she's pregnant! God! I still can't believe she did that to you Hyde" she said turning to him with a compassionate look

"no, she didn't" Forman said mildly, frowning at where she could have gotten such an idea?

"of course, she did! You're the one who told me she was pregnant you should know that's what happened!" donna said annoyed at his reaction.

"she really did tell you about this?" Hyde asked blankly

Eric gulped nervously, he knew Hyde better than the others and he knew what the blank uninterested tone of voice really meant, and he didn't want to be in the line of fire, but that was exactly where he was.

"yeah, she came over earlier and was really upset, she uh…. she uh told me that she was pregnant *gulp* from…." Fear tightened his throat too much to speak.

"from who Forman?" Hyde demanded with dangerous calm

"from Kelso!" donna interjected irritably, she'd already freakin' told them that!

"did she say Kelso?" Hyde asked softly of Forman, his hands balled into fists so tight his knuckles were white.

Donna threw her hands in the air, she couldn't believe they were still on this!

"no man, she said it was…. yours" he managed to choke out the truth and braced for impact, he didn't know how Hyde was going to react to the news, but experience taught him it would be bad.

"sure, she did, but Hyde never slept with her" donna pointed out confidently, she knew this because Hyde was in love with her and Jackie was just a cover so he and Eric didn't fight anymore, she was absolutely positive of that, until she looked at Hyde for confirmation and saw the totally terrified look on his face?

"right Hyde?" she pressed, beginning to worry.

"I'm going to be a dad?" he asked in a weak voice that his two friends present found deeply unnerving.

"wait, wait, wait! You slept with Jackie?! How could you?!" Donna yelled at him

Hyde and Forman gave her identical looks at her outburst, but it was Hyde who spoke.

"how could I what? Sleep with my girlfriend? It was extremely easy Pinciotti, I was there, she was there, she's seriously hot and it all just sort of happened" he said in a deceptively mellow tone

"she's not really your girlfriend though Hyde, we all know that's just a cover for you both, and now not only have you both ruined your lives but you betrayed Kelso who's like your oldest friend!" donna accused indignantly.

"look donna, A – this isn't your business and you've already 'helped' enough, and B – she is my girlfriend so watch your mouth ok?" he warned her

Donna just stared at him in stunned silence, and Hyde didn't wait for her to think of a comeback, he had stuff to do namely, find Jackie and grovel as much as he could in between the panic attacks he felt coming on. He knew how it had happened so there was no wondering about that, he'd been so lost protection hadn't crossed his mind and now here he was, looking for a pint-sized brunette who was super pissed at him and rightfully so.

He'd really done it this time, not only had he ruined her life but he'd called her a liar and a cheater as the icing on the cake, his biggest problem wasn't finding her to talk, it was getting her to listen to another word out of him.

"god I'm a moron!" he yelled to himself as he walked towards her house.

He knew where it was, but never went there even though Jackie had invited him to dinner with her parents more than once, but he'd never wanted to do the 'meet the parents' thing with her, and he was being honest enough with himself now to admit it was because he always kept one foot out the door. No matter how many times he assured Jackie that they weren't just saying they were together for their benefit, he knew he'd been keeping a part of himself back so that he was still mostly single.

He was amazed she put up with him at all now that he played back their relationship to this point, he sucked and no amount of explaining would change that.

He stared at the imposing front door so long waiting to work up the courage to knock that the door finally opened, and a maid stepped out.

"she's not here Steven" the middle-aged lady told him flatly

"how do you know my name?" he asked surprised

The lady rolled her eyes "because Jackie has shown me your picture about 300 times and tells me about 'Steven' every day" she said sternly

"she does?" he hadn't been expecting that, it made everything so much worse

"she does" the maid confirmed and then shut the door in his face, leaving Hyde alone with what he'd done.

He was positive Jackie hated him by now, and he hated to admit it – even in his own mind – but her hating him bothered him. When the hell had he started to actually care about her? He didn't know the answer, but he knew it was how it was and he needed to find her and apologize, he needed to make sure she was ok.

It took him awhile to find her, but after exhausting all the places he thought she might be he decided to check the water tower, he saw her perched on the platform with her feet dangling over the edge, before he could chicken out he climbed up the ladder and sat down beside her.

"go sit over there where the grates rusting though" she said flatly, gesturing to a patch near where he was.

Hyde raised an eyebrow "how come?" he asked

"cus either you'll fall through, or you'll get tetanus, either way it's a win win for me" she said coldly

"look man, I'm sorry I said what I said, Forman told me you'd talked to him and I'm sorry I accused you of cheating with kelso" he said as sincerely as he could manage, as an Olympic level liar Jackie would know instantly if he was at all dishonest.

"I'm not mad about that" she said softly

"why not? You should be pissed as hell I acted like such an ass" Hyde pointed out helpfully

"well, I'm not in love with how you acted" she said sardonically "but considering how we got together, I'm never going to be surprised if you get twitchy about Kelso, which isn't to say you have any reason to get twitchy, but, I do understand, now, go away and leave me alone" she said darkly

"wait, Jackie I don't understand? You just said you understood" Hyde had no idea what was happening? What did he miss?

"and I do" she confirmed with a nod of her head, making her curls sway. "I understand perfectly"

"then why are you still pissed at me?" he knew it was a risky move, because Jackie had an uncanny ability to draw offense from the smallest things, her nuanced view of the world was daunting.

"why do you care?" she said with a laugh that held no humor

"cus man, you're like – pregnant with my kid" it took some effort to say it, and he had to force down some bile afterwards.

"don't pretend to give a damn Hyde" she said fighting back tears

"I do Jackie, ok? Now will you please just tell me why you're still mad? Is it…is it because I did this to you?" he voiced his fears softly

Jackie groaned and rolled her eyes, "no ok?! I'm not as terrible as you all say you know? I know that we were equal partners in being stupid! Now will you please just leave me alone?" she said with a sniff

"not while I'm even more confused about why you're mad at me man" Hyde stood his ground – or grate? And waited for her to shed light on why she couldn't seem to even so much as look at him.

"where did you get the idea that I cheated on you and got knocked up?" she asked sounding tired

"like I said I was listening through the door at the hub" he reminded her

"did you hear me say that id slept with Kelso? Did you hear me say that he got me pregnant?" she asked in a neutral tone – light even.

"uh no, I heard donna saying that" he answered thoughtfully

"did you ask me if it was true?" she asked in that same dangerously calm tone

"….no" he admitted regretfully

"why was that you think?" it was a trap, he knew it as well as she did, but he didn't know how so had to answer.

"because I heard donna say it and I trust her?" he asked it more than said it

"but not me" this was issued as a statement "donna said it, so you didn't even think of waiting to ask me if you had the real facts, nope, if donna said it that MUST be what happened! Even if she just assumed what she yelled at me for no actual reason, if donna says it – you listen! But me? Nope, you don't even give me a tiny chance to explain." She told him so deeply hurt that every word cut him.

He got it now, and he couldn't blame her.

"Jackie man, I'm really sorry. I should have listened to you before I believed what I heard eaves dropping" he made a real attempt at an apology.

Jackie stared silently out at the view before them.

"everything that makes me 'me' is over now that I'm pregnant" she began in a soft tone that made him feel like a piece of shit.

"I'm not going to bail on you jacks" Hyde tried to tell her comfortingly

"I'd rather you did, I'd rather you left right now and went back to your friends in the basement and listen with rapt attention to anything donna says, because that would be the best punishment for you that I can think of!" she said angrily, and turned to him with a fury that made him shrink away a bit

"she – does – not – want – you!" Jackie spat at him brutally honest in her rage.

"I know that Jackie you don't need to – "but he couldn't finish what he was saying as Jackie was not done shoving the truth in his face.

"no! you know it, but you haven't accepted what it means! Do you know what it means Hyde?!" she demanded

"that I'm not going to be with her?" he wasn't sure what to say but figured that was the gist of what Jackie was telling him.

"it means that no matter what you do, what you say, how much more important you treat her than anyone else, she still doesn't want you! The only reason I'm not kicking your ass across the county, is that it's not entirely your fault that you're such a dumbass! she does all she can to keep you on the hook, and it's disgusting to watch how easily you fall for it" she told him scathingly

"she's just my friend Jackie" Hyde told her reasonably, wondering how pregnancy hormones had kicked in so fast?

"you believed the worst about me just because she said it, you don't care now that she basically called me an amoral slut, or that she said I was stupid for getting pregnant – me! Not 'us', me! Or that because of what she did, Kelso called me a slut in front of everyone at the hub! Because I don't matter!" she said in cold fury that felt like hit after hit right to the gut.

"Jackie, I didn't know about that, I'm really sorry and I will make sure to kick Kelso's ass as hard as humanly possible" he promised hoping it would bring her out of the dark place she was in, where she hated him and he deserved it.

Jackie turned then and looked him full in the face, her eyes were huge and sad and he knew he'd hurt her more than 'I'm really sorry' could hope to fix.

"what's the point? You're still going to forget I exist the second donna walks in, I am no one's second choice Hyde- "

"Steven! Its Steven, don't call me Hyde man, I know what you're doing, and I get it, but please stop doll, please?" he asked pleadingly

Jackie stared at him, but didn't respond. She didn't know what else there was to say?

Hyde stared out at the night skyline, thinking over what Jackie had just said, did he really act like that much of a tool whenever donna was around? He hated to admit that Jackie was probably telling an accurate version of it, he knew, as soon as he saw the red head he stopped functioning the way he had before. He sickened himself, all Jackie had done was be cool to him and how did he repay her? By letting donna corner her in a public bathroom and accuse her of some low down nasty acts.

It would be one thing if donna had done it to protect Hyde, but Jackie was supposed to be her friend and he had a sneaking suspicion that it hadn't been a noble intent that brought donna to the hub that day.

He also knew with sickening clarity, that he had about two minutes to fix what he'd done or Jackie would break up with him for good and he'd be back to being the guy without anyone who spent his time sitting angrily in a basement. And it wasn't just that he'd be single again – he didn't give a shit about that – but when he thought about it, considered all the facts, he had to admit that he was more than a little fond of the small girl with the big mouth.

He liked hanging out with Jackie and he didn't want it to end yet.

"Jackie look" he began softly "I don't know what the right thing to say here is, I never have, but I don't want this to be over yet" he said truthfully, who knows, maybe honesty was the best policy?

"why, cus you think I'll sleep with you again?" she snapped bitterly

"no man, nothing like that. I like you ok?" he admitted grudgingly

"huh?" a stunned wide eyed Jackie said blankly, of all the things she expected him to say that wasn't one of them.

"somehow along the way, I…. started to like you?" he explained badly and frowned with concentration while he searched for the right words.

"and it was before we…you know? In fact, it's probably why I started that that day" he took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts to be clear in what he was trying to tell her.

"I don't want to break up Jackie, not because I think I'll get some and not because you're pregnant, I want to keep going out with you because I like you" he said as clearly as he could, and for a guy who didn't like to share his feelings it was no easy thing.

Jackie held his gaze for a long time without saying anything, he noticed after a moment that he was holding his breath and tried to exhale Cooley so she wouldn't notice how down right scared he was that she was finding the best words to kick him to the curb once and for all.

"will you take me home? I'm tired" she said softly and allowed him to give her a hand up, when he immediately sprang to his feet to do as she asked.

Jackie had him drive her car, and didn't say a word all the way to her house, he would have been worried except for the fact that her tiny hand held his tightly the whole way and he wasn't complaining. When they got to her mansion Jackie slowly pulled her hand away and stared at it laying in her lap.

"if you mean what you said, you could come over tomorrow and have lunch with me? My parents are out of town so you don't have to worry about looking like a couple or anything" she said, recalling one of his crappier excuses to avoid meeting them.

"I don't mind looking like a couple doll, because we are a couple unless you say we aren't" he told her quietly, his eyes locked firmly on the steering wheel as he couldn't bear to face her.

"if you were telling the truth then I guess it's safe for me to do the same thing" Jackie told him in the softest voice he'd ever heard

"I was telling the truth" he assured her

"I like you too, and even if I wasn't pregnant I wouldn't want us to be over yet" she admitted awkwardly, looking like she was bracing for him to say something cruel now that she'd made herself vulnerable.

Hyde felt a massive weight rise from where it had been crushing his chest, he felt like he could float away now that she wasn't going to tell him to take a walk, and finally his lungs worked properly.

"I won't let you down again doll, whatever this is with us? I'll see it through" he promised her

"good night Steven" she murmured sweetly and kissed his cheek before going inside,

The grin on his face was a mile wide, she'd kissed him goodnight sure, but what really made him smile like he had few times in his life, was that she'd called him Steven again. It wasn't much, but it was something and he'd take that in a heartbeat!

Two days later Hyde was watching cartoons with the rest of the gang when Jackie burst through the basement door.

"hey, what's up?" he asked sitting up straighter in his chair to greet her

"I'm not pregnant!" she cried happily,

A collective sigh of relief went through his friends (except Kelso who was still being a baby about Hyde sleeping with Jackie). And donna stood up to talk to her.

"Jackie that's so great, but if you pretend this never happened and do something stupid again I'm going to kick your ass" donna threatened playfully

Jackie answered with a smile, and Hyde was sure he was the only one that noticed it didn't touch her eyes "of course donna" Jackie replied with a small laugh.

It was the moment of truth, they'd discussed it the night before but it would take a lot of nerve and Hyde wasn't sure if Jackie could, do it? He watched passively while donna sat back down and Jackie moved slowly across the room, all eyes were on her when she passed in front of the couch and every last one of them was staring blatantly when Jackie took a silent breath for courage and stepped to the side of Hyde's chair.

Eyes trained on the television, acting as casual as he could (which was pretty damn casual) Hyde reached out his arm and hooked Jackie by the waist, pulling her onto his lap without a word. His arms went around her waist as hers circled his neck, Hyde was just thinking to himself how surprisingly good it felt to have her there where he knew she was safe, when cries of protest and indignation rang throughout the basement.

All four of their friends were shocked, even though they'd been told repeatedly that Jackie was Hyde's girlfriend for real and honest and all that jazz, it hadn't been real until he shared his chair with her in their basement?

Whatever.

He didn't give a damn what they thought about it, he wasn't in love, but he really did like Jackie and whenever he replayed her voice saying she liked him too his chest felt pleasantly warm, so who gave a damn what his friends said?

With that firmly in mind, Hyde turned his head towards Jackie and kissed her in full view of them all, they could except that he and Jackie were together or they couldn't, either way he didn't care.

"I'm glad you're here" he murmured softly in her ear

"I'm glad you're here too Steven" she replied in the sweetest voice anyone had ever used when speaking to him, he tightened his arms slightly around her and let out a contented sigh, this wasn't bad at all.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N hello again, so this starts on career day but I'm changing it – possibly a lot? I'm not sure yet. I do know I'm not going to bother with the actual interaction between Hyde and Edna cus it sounds daunting and I'm confident ill mess it up, besides, we've all seen it we know what happens. Anyway, this is the chapter where I really start changing the universe, at least, that's the plan. Let me know what you think, unless you want to point out that my spelling and punctuation suck, because I know that already and for me to fix that I'd have to spend a lot more time than I have on each chapter and there would be a lot less story.

Steven Hyde was an angry person on a daily basis, he read the paper, watched the news, was aware of what was happening in the world and it all made him righteously mad. But if there was one thing that could move the needle from 'pissed at the man' to 'so fucking furious he could hardly see straight' it was Edna.

He hadn't asked to be born, if he had he would have asked to get stuck with bud and Edna, and he was sick and tired of hearing his ma's same old song and dance about the circumstances of his birth. Bud wasn't his fault, so far as he could see, he was the one who'd gotten the worse end of the deal where bud Hyde was concerned, but not in Edna's mind.

His feet led him to the Forman's driveway through the haze of his angry musings, by the time he became aware of where he was he was walking into the garage where Red was working on the cruiser, and a pair of tiny boots peeking out from underneath it?

Jackie's been having a bad day all day, since it was career day she had spent her day all alone but surrounded by people. That wasn't out of the ordinary for her, being a cheerleader meant that she had to be the version of her she'd created to stay on top each and every day. She was used to it, but in the last months she'd also gotten used to having Steven around to help her feel less alone.

He knew her better than the other kids at school did, even if it wasn't by much. Maybe it wasn't that he knew her better so much, but that he knew there was something else to find out? He no longer took her shallow façade at face value, he knew there was a curtain to get behind and he was making the effort to do just that.

An entire day without a conversation that didn't involve hygiene in some way was proving more tiring than she would have thought it would – she missed Steven. It took her a little while to admit to herself that she did, it took her beloved housekeeper Maureen to pin point what was bothering her.

"if you're so lonely without that boy dear heart, go find him and cheer yourself up" she said fondly while stirring a pot of something that smelled wonderful, then paused and gave Jackie a sharp look "in a lady like fashion, are we clear?" she amended sternly, she would not allow Jackie to ever go down the path of her mother, whether that meant stepping over the line of her job or not.

"Maureen! I am always a lady!" Jackie gasped with feigned indignance

"aye, you were a picture of gentility while you were crying on the bathroom floor telling me you might be in trouble" Maureen reminded her seriously

"I thought we agreed never to mention that again?" Jackie said in a stricken voice

"no dear, you said that, I decided long ago that I would do what I could to ensure you have a good life, not just making the best of a bad situation" the middle-aged lady with her fiery red hair up in an impeccable bun told her firmly.

"and I love you for it, but if I promise to never be so irresponsible again can we please pretend it never happened? It wasn't my finest moment and I'd like to forget about it" Jackie told her in her rare serious tone.

"and I do understand that dear, but ignoring our pasts does nothing to help us learn and grow, I won't mention it again unless I need to, but I do ask you to not push it out of your mind because if you think it can't happen again you are very wrong my little love, the universe does not wait for us to be prepared for our lives to progress, it's up to us to take care. Now, go see that boy of yours before I go mad from your chatter about him" she said kindly and shooed Jackie out of her kitchen.

Jackie wanted to deny her crappy mood had anything to do with not getting to see Steven all day, but the private honest part of her brain, knew Maureen was right, she missed him and that was starting to happen more and more the longer they were together.

When she knocked on his door there was no answer, not detoured so easily, Jackie knocked again and waited nearly ten minutes before she decided there was no one home and moved on to her next destination – the basement.

She didn't like walking so much, high-heeled boots weren't comfortable for long distances, but she was lonely, the real kind of lonely not just the wanting someone to talk to because she was bored, kind of lonely, and the only person who could stop that feeling was her boyfriend.

It was still peculiar for Jackie to classify Steven and not Michael as her boyfriend in her brain, but it got easier all the time, her biggest secret was now that whenever she did think of Michael and felt any of her old feelings for him, she felt guilty, angry and a little ill. She viewed this as progress.

She was feeling subdued and a little down when she reached the driveway on her way to the basement to find Hyde. It was her deeply ingrained manners that made her stop on her way and say hello to Mr. Forman when she saw him working on Eric's car in her path.

She said hello, and somehow that turned into her holding a flashlight for him? But it didn't end there, before she could figure out what was happening she was using every bit of strength she had to turn the tire iron on the damn stubborn lug nut while Mr. Forman cheered her on?

When she got the tire off, panting and sweaty she sat on the front bumper and the oddest thing happened – Red Forman and Jackie Burkhart had a real conversation.

"your dad hasn't shown you how to change a tire yet? Don't you drive already" he asked curiously

"yeah well, he works a lot so he doesn't really spend much time with me, but he said he's going to buy me a mustang for my birthday so, I love him" she said half-jokingly, but damn if she didn't want that car! The Lincoln was nice and all, but it was huge and she was small so sometimes it was awkward driving what amounted to a Livingroom on wheels.

Red gave her a piercing look "if I were you, I'd get that sort of promise in writing, and also – the mustang has a problematic front end, get yourself a firebird" he advised

"they're too flashy, I want the car I drive to be a backdrop for how great I look, not overshadow me" she said with a grin, not that she didn't mean it but she knew how silly some of her views on things were, but she wasn't going to change them either way.

"well, since I'm on half days for the time being, I might be able to help you pick out a car when your dad gives you the go ahead" he mused off handedly, she guessed so he wouldn't look like he cared, but she was so happy from the offer it was all she could do not to hop up and down clapping.

"I'd really appreciate that Mr. Forman, my daddy is a very smart successful man, but he says all the time that cars don't interest him, and I don't want to pick the wrong one" she told him

"I'll take a look whenever you need, I'm around most afternoons now" red offered with a shrug, she was a nice kid – a lot smarter and more capable than most of the dumbasses his son hung around with, he wouldn't mind at all helping her pick out a good sturdy safe car.

"I have cheer practice most days after school, and games on weekends, but I really do need to get this 'car' thing out of the way, so I'll try to find a time were both free" she said hopefully, her schedule wasn't near as open as the rest of the kids he dealt with.

"football seasons over soon, that should free up some time" he said thoughtfully, kitty had been a cheerleader in high school and she'd mentioned before how hectic football season was.

"yeah but, after football and cheer are done I might have track and field" Jackie thought out loud while she tried to think of a time she could take him up on his generous offer to help her.

This statement however got Red's attention, and his tone was now bordering on actual interest.

"you're an athlete?" he said curiously

"what do you think cheerleading is?" she asked archly, not that it was his fault, but she was a little defensive of people thinking cheer was just shaking pom-poms, she worked damn hard and was in training nearly year-round to keep in peak physical condition.

Red held up his hands in surrender "fair enough kid, I had no idea you did track too" he explained honestly.

"well, I didn't go out for it last year because I didn't have time…." She realized she was lying and stopped short, took a deep breath and started again "because Kelso whined when I didn't have as much time for him, but I'm thinking about trying out again this year" she told him the truth, while the shame for changing her life up for a boy twisted her stomach.

"well kettle head isn't your boyfriend now, and I don't think Steven will whine if you do something you're good at and that you love" Red told her bluntly

"you know about that?" Jackie said startled he was up on the ins and outs of their lives.

Red gave Jackie a steady look "regardless of what those dumbasses would like to believe, I know almost everything that happens in my house, and I have to say you've made a good choice leaving Kelso, but having said that, I'm not interested in who you all are dating – that's more Kitty's concern, but I happened to have been on the track and field team in school and I think that you should definitely go out for the team this year, well, if you're any good that is" he said with another shrug.

Jackie stood up to her full height and put her hands on her hips defiantly.

"I am very good ill have you know! I place in the top three in every event but hurdles!" she told him proudly

"why not hurtles?" he asked crossing his arms

"I'm too short, I lose a lot of speed with the extra effort it takes to clear them" she said unashamed, it was simple fact.

"fair enough" Red accepted the answer and took a sip of his beer, making a face at how warm it had gotten while they talked. Then he adopted a casual tone.

"you know, kitty and I were just talking about maybe catching a football game at the school before the season ends, we usually don't bother because Eric doesn't like to go and its weird to show up without a student, but it wouldn't be weird if you know one of the cheerleaders" he said thoughtfully

Jackie's heart wanted to explode out of her chest, no one ever came to see her cheer! She begged and pleaded with her parents, the gang, Maureen, but no one ever came. Well, Michael had a few times but he just learned at the other girls instead of being there for her.

"would you really come to a game to see me?" she asked, afraid to hope that's what he meant.

"if you want to tell me you're an athlete I'll have to see it for myself, and I wouldn't mind catching a track event or two either IF I had someone to root for?" he told her pointedly

The smile on Jackie's face could have lit up the darkest cavern in the world, she was great whenever she competed, but with someone there supporting her, rooting for her? She would try her hardest.

"oh, I'll make the track team" she declared certainly, if Mr. and Mrs. Forman were going to come to even one event just to watch her? She'd get on that team if it killed someone.

"will you now? Seems to me someone's been out of training for a year" he pointed out with a small grin at baiting her so obviously, this girl was as competitive as she could be, and Red loved it.

"you just watch, I'll make the team and ill sweep the first event! Accept hurdles" she amended dryly

"deal" Red said holding out one grease covered hand to shake on it, Jackie shook his hand firmly and sealed the deal. "now, let's teach you how to find the U-joint" he said purposefully, break time was over.

He was leaning against the cruiser cleaning off a wrench when Steven walked up looking angry…well, angrier than he usually did.

"shouldn't you be at career day?" Red asked casually, he already had a good idea of what surely happened if he had spent most of the day with Edna.

Sure enough, Steven told him what had happened, and it was exactly what Red had expected, he dispensed his advice to the boy and saw some of the anger and stress leave his face then, curiosity and surprise replace it when Jackie rolled out to say she'd round the U-joint, she flashed Steven a smile before replacing her goggles and going back to work.

Red saw the look on Stevens face when he saw Jackie covered in oil, working on a car and it made him feel like there was hope for the two lonely kids that hung around his house. He had told Jackie he knew what went on in his house even if they didn't realize it, and he'd meant it. He knew neither Jackie or Steven had parents who called him to send them home for dinner, neither of them ever stopped showing up because they were grounded, and were always the first to arrive and the last to leave. He wasn't stupid, he knew the signs of having folks who didn't care where you were or what you were doing, and it pissed him off!

What he wouldn't give to have a son and daughter like them. not that he didn't love his own kids, and deep down he was proud of Eric even if he wished he'd show some initiative, he was smart and had potential (even if it wasn't in sports) but all his own son seemed to want to do was kiss the neighbor girl's ass. Steven was smart and brave and he stood up for what he thought, even if it was ludicrous. And Jackie was everything he'd always hoped Laurie would be, smart, driven and ladylike while still being tough. He decided then that, if their own parents weren't going to care about the kids they had that so many parents would love to call their own – he would.

He stepped a way away from where Jackie worked and gestured Steven to follow him, Steven gave him a confused look, but did as he said.

"take care of that one Steven, she's a good one" he imparted sternly before heading inside to see about some sandwiches for him and his helper.

Hyde just blinked at Reds last statement, for one thing he hadn't been aware red knew he was dating Jackie? But mostly he was shocked that Red would think so much of his girlfriend, although, once he thought about it a little it started to make sense.

"hey doll, want to roll back out for a second?" he called to Jackie who was still under the car.

Immediately she appeared, looking far too cute covered in dirt with safety goggles on

"having fun there doll?" he asked with a smirk

Jackie smiled excitedly "did you know cars make sense? Every part goes to another part and there's a reason for each one, all you have to do is learn what they do and you'll know what any problem is" she told him with a satisfied tone of one who has found answers.

"cool" he replied simply, he knew some about cars but didn't match her enthusiasm, but, he thought objectively – who did?

"how's your day been?" Jackie asked interestedly while she wiped her hands on the rag Red had left her.

"not so great, but starting to look up" Hyde said casually

"why not so great?" Jackie asked with real concern for him, their relationship might be out of the ordinary and confusing at times, but a funny thing about Jackie he had realized was that she always cared.

"had a fight with Edna" he said with a shrug

"I'm sorry" Jackie said with a frown, she didn't like when Steven had a bad day, she always wanted to try and help but knew he didn't want it.

"don't be, I'm going to go back and talk to her in a minute but I wanted to know if you wanted to do something later?" he asked, fully aware that he almost never asked her out, they usually just hung out in the basement, trying to ignore all the looks and bitchy comments from their friends about their relationship.

"yeah, yeah that would be cool" Jackie agreed trying to sound casual about it, but she had recently begun to yearn for Steven to 'like' her, she knew of course, that they were growing closer but, it felt like regular friendship, she was honest enough with herself to admit she was starting to want him to want her.

"cool, I'll meet you here about 7 and we'll find something to do" Hyde told her smiled at her before leaving to deal with Edna.

Jackie was floating on air while she finished up on the cruiser, it had turned out to be the best day she'd had in a very long time. she was just starting to wonder how long it could last, when Mr. Forman called through the kitchen door to come in and clean up for lunch, just the word lunch made her stomach growl and she ran inside to do as she was told.

She was at the kitchen sink washing her hands while Mr. Forman made them sandwiches, somehow Jackie happened to see the inside of the fridge and noticed that it was the emptiest she'd ever seen it? A feeling of worry crept into her stomach as the pieces began to fit together in her mind, half days at the plant, empty fridge so quickly after payday – the Forman's were in trouble.

Maybe she would have been worried about them even if she hadn't spent the day with Mr. Forman? she was a decent enough person, she would have probably felt bad for them if she'd realized their problems the day before, but she hadn't, she found out after spending the afternoon being talked to like she mattered, and encouraged to better herself. Under those circumstances, she couldn't stomach just 'feeling bad for them', she had to act.

Jackie had never been good at doing nothing, hell, she couldn't watch tv without painting her nails so there was no chance in hell she could sit idly by and watch the only adults she looked up to have a hard time! she hatched a plan, and then immediately scrapped it because it was dumb and obviously charity. She would not risk bruising Mr. Forman's pride in any way, she wracked her brain for a way to help which would make them feel like they were helping her?

It was Steven who inadvertently gave her the answer.

While they were sitting at the lake watching the fire flies come out, he'd commented in passing about how bad the school food his mom made was, and added with a laugh that she should ask Mr. Forman for cooking lessons.

It all fell together then, and Jackie knew exactly what she would do, the beautiful part was – no one would ever have any idea what she was up to!

When she got home she worked out the details of her plan, that was one problem down.

There was also the matter of getting completely over Kelso, and hoping that Steven would get completely over Donna and then decide he liked her more than he ever liked donna, and while she's dreaming she'd like a unicorn as a pet and to grow about four inches….

Jackie rolled over on her bed and sighed, why was everything so hard? And not just hard but confusing? 97% of her hated Michael Kelso, but that pesky 3% was still hanging onto her old feelings for him, and it was painful, if he didn't act like such a jerk about her and Steven dating, the number would undoubtedly be higher, but luckily for her he behaved like a petulant child about it and her anger at his hypocrisy kept it firmly at 3%.

Then there was the 'Donna' problem, she couldn't help but make snide bitchy remarks to the red head, and although everyone thought they were born of Jackie's' shallow side, they were really the result of jealousy. She had begun to believe that Steven would never like her the way he liked or had like donna, she may have had the 3% left over for Michael, but she spent most of her time wishing she was enough to make Steven get the same look he did for donna.

Jackie wasn't sure how long she would be able to play second fiddle? She knew he was trying and she gave him due credit for it, but then she would see the look in his eye when donna showed up and it was like being punched. She knew she wasn't strong enough to keep going like this if he still felt the same about donna, she also knew it was better to leave than to be left.

Hyde had a similar problem he was dealing with where Jackie was concerned, he had admitted to himself and later her, that he liked her and he meant it, but, whereas Jackie had 3% feelings left for Kelso (which Hyde guessed at but didn't know for sure) he had somewhere in the neighborhood of 30% left for Donna.

He felt like the biggest scum bag in the world about it too.

Jackie was his girlfriend, his chick, his doll, and she was beautiful and smart and funny, so why the hell did donna still take up so much time in his mind?! He didn't know what the problem was, but he was positive it lay with him and not Jackie, so he tried as hard as he could not to let any sign of what he felt show through, because he knew it would hurt Jackie and he hated hurting Jackie. What he wouldn't have given to talk to Forman about it and ask him what he thought, but that wasn't an option, he'd have to find someone else to seek advice from. Unfortunately, his options were severely limited.

Then a thought occurred to him, there was one person he could go to who's opinion counted at all – Kitty Forman.

At the first opportunity, he had, Hyde went to see her but what he found wasn't what he'd been expecting, and it certainly made what he wanted to talk about impossible.

Standing at the kitchen counter with Kitty, wearing an apron and staring at a cookbook – was Jackie?

"now this recipe isn't too hard Jackie, and I'll explain everything I do while you pay close attention, we'll work up to you trying to do it yourself" Kitty was saying to his girlfriend, while she gave the older lady her full attention.

"what're you doing?" Hyde asked them curiously, from the look of it they were making a Sunday dinner on a Tuesday?

Mrs. Forman turned to him to answer, but he noticed that Jackie was staring resolutely at the peeled potatoes?

"Jackie asked me to teach her how to cook" kitty answered with a happy proud smile, she rightfully took it as a compliment that Jackie would seek her out specifically.

"really, how come?" Hyde asked casually, he knew Jackie well enough to know she hated cooking, he raised a curious eyebrow when Jackie fled the room with the excuse of needing to use the bathroom, something was up and he knew it even if Kitty didn't.

"it was the cutest thing Steven, she showed up here a few hours ago and explained that she was terrible at cooking and didn't even understand how to shop for groceries, but that in two years she'd be going off to college and doesn't want to – and this is her words here – 'get fat eating take out or cafeteria food' so she's asked me to teach her how to shop smartly and to cook decent meals for herself, she says with how bad she is it'll take about two years for her to figure it out" kitty told him laughing at Jackie's candid explanation.

"so, your letting Jackie practice on your own meals? I don't want to be rude Mrs. Forman, but isn't money a little tight to let Jackie experiment?" he knew their situation better than most did thanks to Eric.

"not that I'm admitting to what you say about money right now, but no, I took her shopping and she bought her own ingredients to learn with, were all her test subjects tonight" she explained and went back to preparing dinner.

If he'd felt like a scum bag before, he didn't know a term for how low he felt now? He saw right away what Jackie was really doing, and it made him see her in a whole new light. That clever little girl had found a way to help the Forman's without for a second wounding their pride, but not only that, she was making Kitty feel useful while she did it!

She was brilliant and kind and he couldn't get over an arrogant red head.

This was no longer a problem he could take to Kitty, he needed the last resort option available for guys like him…Red Forman.

He found him in the garage, drinking a beer while he read the classifieds.

"what do you need Steven?" he asked without looking up from the paper.

"I have a problem" Hyde began hesitantly, this was not a subject he was comfortable with and he knew it wasn't Reds favorite either.

"your mom and you fighting again?" red asked looking up now with concern

"no, well yeah, but that's not why I want to talk to you" Hyde said awkwardly, shoving his hands into his pockets and looking at his feet.

"so, what's the problem with you and Jackie?" Red asked knowingly, there weren't a lot of situations that would bring Steven to him for advice, but his tiny assistant could.

Hyde looked up at him clearly shocked that he'd guessed what was bothering him, but did him a favor and didn't ask how he'd known, instead he got to the point (something Red had always liked about him)

"she's a great chick, she's smart and a lot kinder than people realize, she's good at a lot of things but even when she's not she works hard to learn how, she doesn't take any crap off people but she'll do everything she can for the people she cares about" Hyde told Red quietly

"but you can't make yourself like her" Red finished for him

"I do like her! Just not enough ya know?" he tried to explain

"yeah Steven, I know, I don't understand but I know" Red said flatly

"what can I do?" Hyde asked miserably, he hated feeling like this

"let's pretend that I don't know the reason you can't appreciate what you have, for now let's speak as if I don't know what a moron you are and see if I can't shed some light on your problem" red began sternly, making Hyde reconsider going to him for help seeing as how he seemed a lot fonder of Jackie than he'd thought.

"if you're just going to yell at me – "Hyde began to get defensive, but red cut him off.

"sit down and shut up Steven" Red ordered calmly, then opened the fridge and tossed him a beer with a look not to mention it.

"sometimes we get ideas about people that aren't at all accurate, we make judgments and our pride refuses to let us see the truth, that's part of your problem right now, what you originally decided on about Jackie is at war with what you're now learning is the truth, she's a good kid Steven, bright and caring and full of love, she's in there pretending to want to learn to cook so she can buy groceries for kitty, that girl doesn't want to learn to cook Steven, she won't touch the damn eggs for craps sake! But she wanted to help without being rude, so she found a way and I won't ruin that for her or kitty by saying a word. But that's beside the point, back to what I was saying. The other side of what you've decided long ago that you're foolishly holding onto, is that donna is the sort of girl you should be with" he said bluntly, dropping the façade that they were speaking abstractly.

"I don't understand?" Hyde admitted with some difficulty

"you've had it rough Steven, and the way you've had to grow up has come to define you but it doesn't have to, just because circumstances have forced you to be tough and self-sufficient does not mean you have no choice but to want the girl that plays with the boys, donna isn't a bad kind of girl – she's not my favorite person, but she's nice enough over all, but she's a whole lot of talk without much to back it up, whereas Jackie is a whole lot of talk – so much talk – but she's a lot of action too, she stood right there and told me she was a top notch athlete, well, kitty and I went to the last football game at your school and let me tell you, that girl IS a top notch athlete" red said pointedly, with a proud little smile trying to break free. There were a lot of things Red had just said that Hyde wanted to ask about, but the older man wasn't done talking.

"do you see what I'm saying to you Steven? It's the idea of donna you want, because she fits into the image you've created for yourself – the tough guy with the tomboy, it sounds a lot cooler to you than the tough guy with the rich cheerleader. All that means, is that you're letting yourself care about what people think a lot more than you should be" Red told him flatly, basically slapping him in the face with the truth.

"so how do I stop, or change?" Hyde asked

"are you embarrassed to like Jackie?" red asked bluntly

Hyde was silent for a moment before finally admitting the truth "a little bit" he said softly, she was just so different than him.

"then you're the problem, try seeing her for what she is instead of what she shows people to protect herself, you can start by having dinner with us tonight" Red said sternly

Hyde agreed and followed him inside to wash up, while they were walking he asked another question

"you went to watch Jackie cheer?" he said with a smirk

Red turned and gave him an unimpressed look "yes Steven, I did. And let me tell you, she deserves a lot more respect than she gets for it, id puke my guts up if I was tossed in the air that high and expected to turn a summersault" he said with a shake of his head

"yeah I know what you mean" Hyde agreed with a shudder

"she'd like it if she knew you came to her games Steven, instead of hiding under the bleachers so you don't look uncool" red told him pointedly

"how'd you know I was there?" Hyde asked shocked dead he'd been caught

"not much gets past me son, next games this Friday, come watch it with kitty and I instead of crouching under bleachers like a pervert" red invited him in his peculiar way.

Hyde just nodded and followed red inside to the ladies finishing dinner, he stopped and stared at Jackie wearing an apron and smiling contentedly. She was beautiful, and he felt his heart give a strange jolt? It gave an even bigger one when Jackie saw him and skipped over to kiss him hello and tell him animatedly about her day with Mrs. Forman.

A/N so every time I watch career day I feel like they bailed on a story line they set up by not pursuing red and Jackie being close and working on the car, I love that part, especially when she tells Eric 'that's one' just like red had, so I fixed it. I'm taking their relationship slow for a reason, and I'm making Jackie the one who realizes she likes Hyde first because I think she kind of always did in the show, let me know what you think.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N hello, I fear this chapter will get away from me, I have a clear intent but on occasion I've ended up far from where I meant to. But hey – let's all hope for the best!

How had he gotten here?!

How had he ended up at the goddamn prom!

Truth be told, he knew exactly how he'd gotten to the overcrowded gym full of streamers and hormones, but at the same time he couldn't fathom what string of events could have gotten him into not only this god forsaken oven of a gym! But the freakin lavender tux too!

'Tense' was an understatement for how Hyde was feeling at that particular juncture in his young life. His rented tux itched like hell and he felt like a damn fool in it to boot, but that really wasn't what was making him so tense.

The entire atmosphere around him was causing the sick feeling taking him over, there was one tiny bright spot in his mood and that was the tiny girl he was dancing with. The blinding smile on her face was making that very bright spot in his very dark mood, they were dancing with thoughtless ease to the music blasting around them but, Hyde was so pissed off he could barely take in what was happening.

He was too involved in trying to back track to where it had all started? And he just about had it nailed down, no wait, he knew for sure and he badly wished he could dole out some justice. Unfortunately, the bright little spot smiling up at him, looking incredible in her frilly dress, would not be impressed should he lose it and get medieval on those that so richly deserved it.

The main problem he was having, was who to start with?

A case could be made for either Kelso or Donna being the front runner for his anger to find an outlet, but if he'd had to choose that very moment he'd probably go with Donna.

If he had to choose that very moment the exact moment that he'd begun to feel the way he was feeling he'd have to pick a few weeks before, when Red was helping Jackie train for track try outs.

-the Forman's driveway, a few weeks before prom –

Hyde was leaning against the vista cruiser watching Red Forman with a whistle around his neck and a stop watch in his hand, talk to a red faced panting Jackie. She was leaning over, her hands on her knees and her pony tail falling across her face, the dark strands sticking to the sweat on her forehead.

He couldn't take his eyes off her.

As far as Hyde could tell she was plenty fast enough to get on the point place high track and field team, and yet, Red was speaking animatedly towards her as if both admonishing and encouraging her at the same time?

"speed isn't always enough kid, you need focus, a lot of people can make good time sprinting when they want to, what wins a race is whether you can keep your eye on the finish line" he explained with a frown.

Jackie had looked up at him with a defiant glint in her eyes

"are you suggesting that it's the competition that will throw me off?" she asked sounding deeply offended at the mere thought.

"no, you're in it to compete, not have a good time, what I'm saying is you're out of practice in that particular part of it and I don't want us to look back and wish there was something we'd done that we didn't" he said adamantly

"you wanna race me Mr. Forman?" Jackie asked with a grin

"not in this life kid" he laughed slightly before turning to Hyde "go tell Eric I need him out here" he said firmly

"Eric? I'm already here, I can do it" Hyde said with a shrug, he didn't like running too much but he'd lend a hand to help his chick.

"I don't trust you to try and win, not against Jackie at any rate, Eric won't have that problem" Red explained and Hyde couldn't fault his logic, but at the same time he didn't think there was much of a chance of him overtaking Jackie in a race whether he gave it his all or not – that girl was damn fast!

He went and fetched Eric like red asked and watched with a smirk while Red told him why he was there, there was an effort on Eric's part to avoid what he was being asked to do, but Hyde smirk only widened when Eric left and returned wearing his gym clothes.

In a surprising turn, Jackie didn't make Eric eat her dust like Hyde and Red had expected – he didn't win by any measure, but he did a hell of a lot better than they'd expected.

Hyde went over and joined them where they were chugging water like they'd just wandered out of the dessert,

"not bad Forman, you should try out for track team too" Hyde told him with a smirk

"and why would I do that Hyde?" Eric asked, still trying to catch his breath.

"cus Red and I could make a bet about it" Hyde shrugged

"wow, how could I possibly pass up giving you an opportunity to laugh at me?" Eric asked sarcastically

"you should Eric" Jackie chimed in totally serious "I should have been able to beat you without breaking a sweat, but you held up pretty well and if I were you I'd take that a compliment, why not try out for the team?" she asked as if it were an easy choice

"because I don't try out for school teams, especially athletic teams" Eric explained slowly, as if she were a small child who had never heard a concept she was hearing before.

"why not?" Jackie asked curiously

"because…." Eric paused, his face going blank. He couldn't actually think of a reason why he wouldn't?

"if you like to run – run, if you think you can win – try to win, if you don't join teams – ask yourself why? If the answers good enough fine, but if it's because you don't want to catch crap from your friends? That just makes you a wuss" Jackie told him with her patented brand of bluntness.

"uh…ok…I'll think about it" Eric told her looking confused while he walked into the house again.

Hyde hadn't been surprised when he saw a familiar skinny figure walk up to the booth to sign up for try outs, but he had to laugh when it occurred to him who would be surprised to see Eric at try outs.

But that surprise would be nothing compared to the shock Red would get when his son got home and informed him that not only had he tried out – but he'd made the team, along with Jackie. Things were about to get interesting, Hyde had thought to himself, but it turned out it didn't get 'interesting' so much as infuriating.

As far as he could tell, the reason Eric never tried out for things like teams or clubs was because Donna didn't like it, and when he watched her tease and belittle his best friend for joining a 'mindless group' he felt his feelings for her drop a little bit more, 30% became 25% with the first jibe at his friend.

That was the start of the tense angry feeling in his chest, but it hadn't been the end, because then Kelso had thrown his hat into the ring too.

But it was Donna's behavior that he was still brooding about even while he danced with Jackie, he felt a little guilty that she wasn't taking up his full attention, but took solace that he wasn't feeling very nice things towards Donna at the moment so he wasn't exactly betraying his chick.

But he knew the time where he would have a word with his two 'friends' was coming, and soon.

Because not only was Donna picking on Eric a hell of a lot more than anyone would ever think was ok, but she'd also been downright venomous to Jackie and he was starting to realize why. Then there was Kelso.

To say violence was on his wish list towards his friend, was an understatement of massive proportions.

Their resident half-wit, had started out by taunting Jackie about taking pam Macey to prom – the very girl he'd cheated with that caused their break up. Now, Hyde would have been pissed by Kelso doing this even if he wasn't going out with Jackie, acting like that, having no regard for Jackie's feelings? He would have been pissed either way.

But she was his girlfriend, so his reaction was considerably worse than it would have been six months before. He was ready to beat his point into Kelso's face, and the more Kelso said the closer Hyde came to making that dream a reality.

Because first he had tried to upset Jackie by taunting her about the prom, knowing prom wasn't likely for her seeing as how her current boyfriend was a known protestor of school dances, he knew that was what Kelso was trying to do, they all knew it and that pissed Hyde the hell off! So much so in fact, that he'd had to shut them all down…he hadn't been happy with the only option available to do that.

"who are you going with Jackie?" Kelso had asked, knowing full well she wasn't going

"who do you think she's going with?!" he snapped angrily, feet dropping to the floor for emphasis. Only one thing could mess up what he was doing, and that was Jackie opening her mouth and calling his bluff, but he underestimated her loyalty to him….to them.

"you aren't going to prom Hyde" donna scoffed in that peculiar way she had that made it seem as if she knew them all better than they knew themselves, and if they did one single thing out of that character she assigned them it was met with harsh derision, just like now.

"I'm not? Seems to me pinciotti, that my girlfriend wants to go to prom and since she is MY girlfriend and the chances of another dude touching her are exactly zilch, the only option for her to go – and if you think she's willing to sit this one out because I don't like dances your insane – is if I take her, so there you have it, were going to prom" Hyde stated calmly but his eyes were cold, and it was obvious the matter was closed to discussion.

At least, until he and Jackie were alone and could discuss some ground rules, which turned out to be a lilac tux and a sworn oath to dance.

But it was good to see her smile up at him while they turned around the polished floor of the gym, she hadn't smiled much the last few weeks since Donna had been at her throat. To hear donna's view of it, Jackie coerced Forman into trying out for track in some insane plot to manipulate them all into being what Jackie considered 'acceptable friends', she was cruel to her from the moment Forman broke the news with a proud smile that he'd made the team because of his excellent time in the 100-meter dash.

Every day that Forman had practice with his new team, donna got a little bit worse a little bit more sharp in her words to Jackie, until Hyde was about to reevaluate his stand on violence towards her. He knew that he wouldn't really cross that line, he had his scruples – strange as they may be – and he wouldn't hurt a woman.

Kelso had obviously assumed that Jackie would be heartbroken he was taking pam to the prom instead of her, and was getting progressively more offensive and obnoxious as the days to prom ticked down, culminating in him making a final attempt to humiliate Jackie at the actual dance by making a point of approaching her and Hyde with his vapid date on his arm. When Jackie hadn't given the reaction, Kelso wanted he'd said something that Hyde couldn't allow.

The rational part of his brain was trying to shout down the angry part by telling him it wouldn't be a good time during a trip to the punch bowl to knock kelso's teeth out of his head. But then he'd look at Jackie, and he'd see the cautious happiness on her face, she'd been so excited that he had asked her - 'asked' not been guilted into agreeing – to prom, it made him feel good about himself where she was concerned for one of the first times in their relationship, and his friends had ruined that with the way they were behaving.

He was not going to wait much longer to set them straight.

But out of respect for his chick, he had decided to wait until after the dance she'd so wanted to attend.

Not surprisingly, they all ended up in the basement after the dance, watching tv and winding down for the night. Hyde sat beside Jackie on the tiny couch, rubbing her feet under cover of her skirt to avoid comment. All he wanted was to finish the night on a decent note, all he hoped for was to get Jackie home without incident. He got neither of those things.

"you know what I don't understand is how you could have gone to prom with Hyde?!" Kelso cried out of nowhere, jarring them out of their sleepy thoughts.

"he's my boyfriend Kelso, who else would take me?" Jackie asked reasonably

Kelso scoffed "he's not really your boyfriend Jackie! Everyone knows that you just say that to get my attention, and I want you to know it's working, now let's drop all this run around and find somewhere to 'talk'" he said while preforming the sleaziest air quotes in history.

"Kelso, I'm warning you – back off her before I kick your ass" Hyde growled angrily at him.

"this doesn't concern you Hyde, you're just her bread" he said petulantly

"you mean 'beard' ya goddamn moron! And I'm not her beard I'm her boyfriend so back the fuck off!" he ordered dangerously, while keeping an eye on Jackie's reactions to make sure he could cut it off before someone upset her more than they already had.

"yeah Kelso, leave them alone Jackie might get upset" donna said in a mocking tone that set his teeth on edge, he shot her a warning look but kept his focus on Kelso.

"back off now, that's your last warning" Hyde told him bluntly, hoping that it got through to him but it was a small hope considering how damn stupid Kelso was.

"the thing is Hyde, I get it – you wanted to do it with her but now that you have its time to drop this whole thing, and don't worry Jackie ill totally forgive you for letting Hyde dirty you up, but you're going to have to do a lot of apologizing and ya know – look the other way once in a while, if you know what I mean?" he said insinuating she'd be expected to let him do whatever he wanted with whatever slut he wanted until she paid her imaginary dues.

"one last chance to shut your mouth Kelso" Hyde snarled, he could see a shimmer gathering in Jackie's eyes with each word he spoke, and he couldn't be held responsible for what he did if kelso made Jackie cry!

"Kelso man, back off" Forman told him seriously, he could see what was going to happen if Kelso kept going like this and it wasn't a happy outcome.

"wow I didn't realize team spirit extended into the basement?" Donna sneered at him, they'd been doing better up to prom but it looked like the peace was over now that everyone's favorite topic had come up again.

"it doesn't have anything to do with being on the track team donna, he's being a jerk for no reason, Jackie and Hyde are together now and no matter how weird that still is to all of us it's not our business. And besides how can you be ok with the things he's saying to her?" he asked confused at how she could allow anyone to speak to another woman like that? Wasn't she supposed to be a feminist?

"because even though his words leave much to be desired, she brought it on herself." Donna said in her lofty 'I'm the grown up here' voice, but it didn't stop there.

"she bounced from Kelso to Hyde and now she's paying the price for acting like she's easy, you don't get to go from friend to friend in a group and not have to answer for some things, have we all forgotten that you two hadn't been 'together' a month before she thought she was pregnant! So not only did she use you to make kelso jealous, but she almost got herself in trouble because she didn't think about anything like usual" donna finished her scathing review of Jackie to a tense silence, only Kelso looked like he was backing her opinion.

Hyde looked furious, Forman looked angry and worried in equal measure, but it was Jackie that took Hyde's attention, the tears were running down her face freely now. What donna had said had wounded her deeply and she didn't know what to do? So, she sat there beside him with her bare feet in his lap and her beautiful eyes full of pain.

He wasn't sure what he did first, stand furiously to face them, or have Forman take Jackie upstairs and away from anymore hurtful words? But the end result was two vacant confused faces looking at him as he stood up trying to get his temper under control enough to speak.

"where do the two of you get off talking to her like that?" he began by asking, his voice was full of the promise of rage, but neither noticed that.

"sorry if you don't like the truth Hyde, but we all know what you two have been doing" donna said smugly.

"clearly you don't" Hyde said flatly

"yeah huh" Kelso butted in "you were all into Donna and then when you couldn't steal one friend's girl you stole another" Kelso said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world

"so much is wrong about what you just said I'm not sure what part pisses me off the most" Hyde said thoughtfully, then squared his shoulders and glared at them both.

"but let's start with how you both just made her cry because you can't keep your noses out of things that don't concern you" he said quietly

"oh wow, we made the resident drama queen cry, excuse the hell out of me!" donna scoffed snidely.

Kelso laughed and Donna opened her mouth to speak again "if she can't take the truth about what she's done, that's her problem and were not going to apologize for her being sensitive about- "but donna never got to finish her sentence because a loud crash interrupted her.

The loud crash was the result of all Hyde's pretenses of calm falling away as he hurled his chair across the room.

"stop! Just stop it donna! You're in the wrong and you know it! You can't possibly be so removed from reality to think the things you're saying are ok?!" he yelled no longer bothering to try to be calm.

"everything I said was true!" donna cried indignantly

"it was the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard! And you made her cry – you made my chick cry! I can't let that pass…no, I WONT let that pass! She wasn't doing anything donna, she was just sitting there and you went after her like a starving dog goes after a piece of meat, you did everything to mark your territory but piss on her leg and I'm done with it!" Hyde shouted, moving beyond rage now, he was livid and righteous, he'd never been righteous before and it allowed for a lot more elbow room than he usually got.

"I'm going to make something as clear as I can possibly make it for you both: neither of you are anywhere near as important to me as Jackie and Forman are, so stop presuming you are allowed to comment on me or my life, you will regret it" he said with chilling finality.

"whatever Hyde" donna said with a roll of her eyes, firm in the knowledge that it was her Hyde really wanted and Jackie was nothing more than a means of distraction, sure he was talking big to put on a good front, but she knew she could win any argument just by changing the tone of voice she used on him.

"yeah Hyde, were right and you're wrong so just accept having to say you're sorry and deal with whatever justice we decide" Kelso said with a pompous tone only achieved by the truly stupid.

The look of disbelief remained on his face for a solid two minutes while he let it sink in that they honest to god did not understand what they'd done wrong. It could have gone on indefinitely if kelso – emboldened by Donna's claims – hadn't decided to push him too far at last.

Later on, when Hyde tried to explain what had happened he could only remember bits and pieces, he knew Kelso had said something despicable about Jackie (some claim of ownership and Hyde having claim jumped?) and upon hearing it his vision went red, there was a muffled crunching sound (which he later learned was Kelso's nose breaking against his fist) and a pained cry.

Then when his vision cleared, he saw donna crouched over a bleeding Kelso and giving him a disgusted look.

"what the hell Hyde?!" she yelled accusingly

"he's lucky I only punched him after what he said" Hyde growled, still fuming and wanting to cause Kelso pain.

"how could you punch one of your oldest friends over a girl?! And Jackie no less" donna cried indignantly.

"I'd punch a stranger for talking like he just was, and would you knock off all the Jackie bashing before I can't forgive you?!" he shot back, deadly serious.

This was it, the last 10% of hang up Hyde had on Donna was directly linked to his long held belief that she was smart and a good person, he was starting to think it was all a smoke screen, a massive ruse to cover the fact that she was just as petty and catty as the most vapid gossip monger you could imagine, and somehow she seemed to think that by constantly pointing out Jackie's lesser qualities (and he wasn't a fool, Jackie wasn't by any means perfect) it would distract from her own.

"I can't just sit back and watch you change so much from who you were" donna defended staunchly

"change? I wish I could say I'm changing man! I know who I am – who I've been, and not being that guy sounds pretty damn good from where I'm sitting! And while we're on it – if you're really my friend like you say you are, shouldn't you want me to change? Can you look me in the eye and tell me the way I am is a good way to be?! You fucking know it's not! You know it because I've told you! So, drop all the bullshit donna, you don't like me having a girlfriend because it means you're not as important to me, just like you don't like you don't like Forman being on the track team because it means his life isn't all about you! And not only that, but for the first time in his life he's proud of himself and if he's proud of himself then he doesn't need you as, much, does he? so why don't you get off your high horse and see what you've really been doing?" Hyde told her angrily, the angrier he got the clearer a lot of things were becoming.

But he didn't feel like dealing with it anymore just then, he had a lot of other things that should be dealt with, for instance his hand hurt like hell, his girlfriend was somewhere in the house possibly still crying, and he was in the basement, in a lavender tuxedo shouting back and forth with a sanctimonious red head!

"I'm done man" Hyde said wearily passing a hand over his eyes

"what's that supposed to mean?" donna demanded with her hands on her hips

"it could mean I'm done talking for tonight if that's how you want to take it, but I think we both know you're incapable of dropping any subject before you've worn the other person into taking your side. So, let's drop that notion and get to what I'm really saying right now – I'm done talking to you right now, get out!" he growled with enough fury that small woodland creatures would have been scurrying away in terror if there had happened to be any in the basement to do so.

"you can't kick me out of the basement Hyde, its Eric's house and he's my boyfriend" donna countered with a pomposity that Hyde suddenly recognized as being a normal tone for her that he'd always let his brain explain away so that he didn't have to see her for how she really was.

As he was drawing in a deep breath to retort he was saved from having to by Forman descending the stairs again to join them.

"hey donna, Hyde, my dad says it's time for – and this is a direct quote – all my dumbass friends to get the hell out of his house before he starts charging them rent and…. why is Kelso on the floor?" he finished with a curious tilt of his head waiting to hear what had happened while he'd been upstairs.

"Hyde punched him out" donna informed him with a glare directed at Hyde who just rolled his eyes.

Forman looked back and forth between them trying to make sense of what he was hearing vs. the amount of time he'd been gone?

"fifteen minutes" he said weekly

"what?" asked donna, not understanding

"I was gone for fifteen minutes, in that fifteen minutes kelso got punched out and you two look like you're about to go around or two also, so would anyone like to use their words and tell me what the hell is going on?" he asked curiously

He did not get any takers on that.

"ok then, Donna, help me get Kelso up and out of here, Hyde, Red wants you upstairs" he said unemotionally, if he didn't get his friends out of the house all the goodwill he'd recently had with Red would go up in smoke if he had to miss part of his TV show to kick teenagers out of his house again.

Without another word, Hyde climbed up the stairs, thankful that he'd be long gone before Kelso came too and he had to hear his voice again, if he'd had to he'd probably punch him again.

"you wanted to see me Red?" Hyde asked respectfully, he'd known the Forman's long enough to know your manners should increase concurrent with each hour that's passed after 8pm, it was almost midnight so he probably should have called him 'sir' now that he thought about it.

"yes, I do, you see Steven I've been up here for the last twenty minutes listening to Jackie cry in the study to kitty about what one of you dumbasses said to her, now, I know it wasn't Eric because he brought her to kitty, and I know it wasn't you because you're not as subtle as you think you are" he said with a hard glare.

"I'm not following sir?" he remembered protocol at least

"if it wasn't Eric and it wasn't you, then what I'm asking is which one of them was it?" and Hyde knew better than to play dumb about what he was asking when he used the tone he had used.

"both of them" he said with a tone that he wasn't aware of, but which told Red clearly it had been bad.

"are they gone?" he asked brusquely

"should be by now" Hyde answered promptly

"good" Red said bluntly

"is she okay?" Hyde asked then trying to sound less interested than he was

"as good as can be expected considering she was just ambushed by people she thought cared about her" now it was red who could barely hide his anger, and Hyde wisely kept silent until Red spoke again.

"I don't pretend to understand all of you, a bunch of bright kids – apart from Kelso – who choose to waste time in a basement instead of doing anything with your lives. But you're all decent kids over all so I put up with it, I put up with all of you always being underfoot, eating my food, ruining my silence, but I draw the line at what's happened here tonight! This is my house and I will not abide this sort of thing! So as of now – fun time is over!" Red yelled

Hyde had no idea what he was talking about? But again, wisely chose not to speak.

"starting tomorrow, the basement door is locked. You will all come to the door like normal people who don't live somewhere and **I** will decide who can come in! I put up with a lot going on down there that I don't approve of but this is where I draw the line!" he was still shouting, and Hyde thought it best not to mention he was repeating himself.

"go take Jackie home Steven" he said in a calmer voice "and she's had a rough night, so try not to be an ass ok?" he added seriously

"will do sir" Hyde promised quickly, eager to get out of there and the uncomfortable conversation he'd been a part of…well, kind of a part of? He also wanted to see with his own eyes that Jackie was alright.

Getting Jackie away from Mrs. Forman wasn't as hard as he'd been anticipating, which didn't mean it was easy, but aside from a stern look that spoke volumes, she handed Jackie over without a word and went to call out the back door or Eric to come in for the night.

The ride back to Jackie's house was silent, and Hyde wasn't really sure why? He knew that Jackie had been gone by the time Hyde went to bat for her, but he still couldn't think of a reason that she would be upset with him?

When they arrived at Jackie's house, Hyde got out and walked her to her door before making the trip home on foot, and it was there that he learned what was making her so withdrawn.

She had put her key in the door when she turned and looked at him.

"I'm not weak!" she said in a low but determined voice

"don't think I ever said you were?" Hyde said with a raised eyebrow

"good because I'm not!" she reiterated angrily

"why are you telling me this?" he asked carefully

"because…because I cried when they started talking to me like that, and I wanted to make sure you know that I am not weak!" she said adamantly

"that stuff tonight didn't make me think you re weak doll, I made me think they're assholes" he told her honestly

"good! Because I'm not!" she said again

"and I know that already" he said slowly

"I'm usually pretty good at handling things, but I…. didn't see it coming you know?" she defended

"oddly yes, I'm aware you were taken off guard by what happened, maybe it was how you were half asleep that tipped me off?" he joked with a small smile

"what's going to happen now?" Jackie asked nervously,

"well let's see?" he said putting an opportunistic arm around her "Red banned everyone from entering the basement without clearance, I broke Kelso's nose so I'm probably going to have to deal with that somehow, I also perhaps…got in a small argument with Donna and there could be some backlash from it?" he told her thoughtfully

Jackie stared up at him with very wide, very surprised eyes.

"it seems I missed some stuff?" she murmured

"a little" Hyde admitted

"should I worry about tomorrow?" Jackie asked seriously

"no, you've got me, and I won't let them say a word to you" he vowed

Jackie looked up at him with a curious expression he couldn't quiet put a name to?

Then her lips curved into a tiny smile

"I've got you?" she asked in the sweetest voice he'd ever heard

He felt his mouth go dry, this was it.

Taking a deep breath to keep his voice steady when he answered Hyde looked her full in the face.

"yeah Jackie, you've got me" he confirmed softly and pulled her against his chest tightly.

All along there had been a choice he'd needed to make about what he wanted, and it took him until that moment to see that he'd made it a while ago.

Jackie was his chick, there was a lot more about her that he liked then he didn't, and he could no longer say that about donna. If fact, if he did a quick mental calculation, the haunting 30% was now down to about 1%, and that was just nostalgia.

"you better be telling the truth Steven, because if you're with me, I need you 100% with me" she told him quietly,

Hyde paused before answering, mainly because he was busy wondering if she could read his mind? That was not a good scenario for him. But then he just couldn't help but grin when he thought of how to answer.

"would you settle for 99%?" he asked with the same grin

Jackie narrowed her eyes while she considered his offer.

"well for you I will, but just know – I am really lowering my standards!" she said firmly

"I'll keep that in mind" he told her trying to sound serious, but failing seeing as how he couldn't stop smiling.

After a minute, Jackie, couldn't help but smile back at him. She took him firmly by the hand and without a word, led him into her empty house. There would be no sex he knew – they were both too gun shy for that after the scare, but staying with her was an offer he wasn't willing to pass up.

A/N not sure what I think of this chapter? But there's still a way to go before it's over so let's all hope the next chapter goes more smoothly. On the one hand, I needed all this stuff to have happened, on the other I found myself lacking ideas for dialog with the situations I made, but I'd like to think I did the best I could with what I had, also its long, but I like that so I don't apologize for that at least.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N so I totally have an excuse for why I haven't updated for a while, and that is – I tried to work on another of my stories and stalled out on it for lack of inspiration, so now I'm back to this one which for some reason, flows easier? Anyhow, although it could change by the end of writing this the plan for this chapter is to cover several episodes with my own peculiar twist on them, as always, I'm open to suggestions for things to add, hope you all enjoy.

Also, I own nothing.

Finally, there was peace and quiet, and for that Hyde was very grateful because it had been a shit storm of late! But it was over now…kind of, he was at the hub with fez peacefully eating his fries after having to weather the storm of Forman and donna's fight about David Millbank.

Leave it to donna to get mad that she was wrong about something.

Jackie had called it the moment donna and David hung out the first time, she'd been at Hyde's house sitting on the couch sharing a bag of chips she'd brought with her – she knew by then his house didn't have food most of the time – and he'd mentioned Forman being upset about the whole thing. At that time, he'd taken what donna said at face value, and believed it wasn't a big deal, until Jackie set him straight, she snatched the chip bag out of his reach to ensure his attention.

"ok, Steven I need you to listen to me with your ears, so look at me and not the TV" she demanded calmly "they aren't friends" she stated bluntly "friendship is something that's formed over time, you of all people should be aware of that, but that's not my point"

"what is your point then?" he asked with a smirk, Jackie tended to go far off track from her original intent.

"this, we always know – when a boy is really into a girl, the girl knows, no maybes about it" she told him with a blunt edge to her words.

This wasn't information Hyde had been equipped to deal with, because if what she said was true that meant some unpleasant things.

"you can't 'always' know" he argued seriously, there had to be a lot of cases of girls being oblivious…. right?

"yeah ok, if it's like 'admiring from afar' no we won't be able to tell because we can't read minds like professor X! but if a boy is acting like David Millbank is acting – we freaking know they like us!" she shrieked to drive her point home, going so far as to smack him painlessly on the shoulder.

Hyde stared at her while he processed everything she said, several questions came to mind but first he went with – "if that's true then all that time before we were together….?" He couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence and admit the truth, but Jackie already knew what he was getting at.

With a cool expression shed said "yes, Donna knew you liked her before you said so Steven, but she liked the attention – just like now" she'd informed him flatly

"and you're sure about all this?" he asked, hoping against hope that she had doubts about her theory

"I'm always right Steven, the sooner you accept that the happier your life will be" she told him loftily, crossing her arms.

"I feel the need to remind you about your last boyfriend doll face" he said defensively, he'd known it was a bad idea to bring it up the moment the words passed his lips, but he was a dumbass and hadn't been able to stop it, but to his amazement (which hadn't worn off yet either) Jackie just smirked back at him after he invoked kelso.

"if we don't make mistakes we can't learn from them Steven, Kelso was a terrible choice and a terrible boyfriend, which made me make a better choice for my next boyfriend" she said with a sweet smile for him, which slipped into a wicked grin "and just think how great the next one will be?" she teased

"you are not at all funny" he growled, highly offended by her joke.

"settle down there handsome, you don't get to be pissed since you only started to remotely like me about 24 days and six hours ago," she giggled at his scowl

Hyde glared at his giggling girlfriend, her curls bouncing with her laughter, and reached out his hand to pull her gently into a kiss – a real kiss, usually she greeted him with a quick peck and it stopped there – he heard her sharp intake of breath being caught unaware, but she didn't pull away and after a few seconds he seriously wondered why they didn't spend more time this way?

Finally, Hyde pulled back and stared at her, she looked shocked but happy.

"your way off doll" he told her softly

"no, I'm not Steven, she knows he's interested ok?!" she snapped irritably, pissed he'd ruined such a nice moment.

"not about that, I accept that you know what you're talking about there, your wrong about the 24 days and six hours" he explained and steeled himself to do something he loathed – talk about feelings.

"I am not! I counted it out last night when I was having trouble sleeping and it's been that long since you told me you liked me for sure" she said adamantly

"the thing you need to remember doll, is that I don't like talking about what I feel so there's a pretty big gap between when I start to feel something, and when I say it out loud" he explained awkwardly

"how big of a gap?" Jackie asked barely above a whisper, her eyes huge.

He'd had to fight to keep the smirk off his face, he didn't get to surprise her often because she was annoyingly observant, he was going to enjoy the hell out of this.

"remember when we went to Kenosha?" he asked, his smirk breaking free at last.

Jackie's mouth fell open, she couldn't fathom what he was implying.

"at the disco? You started to like me at the disco?" she asked, shocked beyond belief that he could be telling the truth, although if he was lying she appreciated the effort.

"not exactly, but it's the first time I really noticed you" he admitted

"I looked damn good that night" Jackie nodded in agreement

"like that was something new? You usually looked damn good, if I cared about that I would have been after you the first time I saw you, nah man, I started to notice you when you were out there with fez dancing, it was…impressive" he wasn't sure that was the right word for what he'd witnessed?

"my dancing? That's what made you start to notice me? How? And how long after noticing me did you start to sort of like me?" she asked confused by what he was telling her.

"remember that Christmas party in the basement?" he asked uncomfortably, averting his eyes from her face.

"not really, I drank a lot of that punch whorey Laurie spiked and there's a lot of blank spots" she admitted her expression turning angry when she thought of Eric's evil sister.

"you uh, you tried to help me figure out a present that day and then…." He wasn't sure how to continue?

"helping you think up a gift for another girl made you like me?" she asked, taken aback.

"no man! Crap, this is why I don't talk about feelings!" he groaned, rubbing his face in hopes of warding off the headache he felt coming on.

"then get to the point Steven" Jackie ordered, she wasn't enjoying what he'd said so far.

"you kissed me that night, I'm assuming you don't remember because of all the punch you had, but you cornered me under the mistle toe and laid one on me, then told me you liked the way I smelled" he recounted with a tiny smile at the memory, truth be told he'd liked the way she had smelled too.

"I did, didn't I?" she said as it came back to her.

She'd seen him standing alone near the mistle toe and in her rum induced haze she couldn't help herself, she'd lied earlier when she'd told him her answer if he wanted to make out was probably no, he wasn't pretty like Kelso, he was handsome. So, handsome in fact that she'd made a bee line to him and kissed him full on the lips without any sort of warning, she remembered thinking he smelled really good and it felt nice holding onto him, she was now realizing that she seemed to have said it all out loud.

"so, you start to like any girl who drunkenly kisses you?" she asked curiously

"just you doll" he chuckled and kissed her slowly, when he pulled away Jackie looked dazed.

"wow" she said absently

"yeah, we need to start doing this a lot more often" he agreed with a similarly dazed tone.

Not that he wasn't happy with their current relationship, but they'd kept things innocent long enough in his humble opinion and he could get used to kissing her like that as often as humanly possible!

"damn straight" she agreed nodding blankly.

Hyde smirked at the memory of the rest of that afternoon as he popped a fry in his mouth and half listened to what fez was saying, when the door flew open and a skinny chick in black leather strode towards them asking if there was a motel around there?

Before he knew what was happening he was on the back of her Vespa showing her the way to the nearest motel. He was only slightly surprised when she propositioned him while they were talking, he was about to say something clever in response when a face popped into his mind – Jackie.

"I gotta go man, good luck in New York" he told her awkwardly

"what's up with you man?" Chrissy asked with a sneer

"hangin' outs one thing man, but I've got a girlfriend and I'm not down to make her cry ya know?" he told her seriously

"relationships are a lie the establishments fed us to keep us in line man! Love is just propaganda contrived to keep us from noticing how screwed up the world is!" she said firmly convinced of her view.

"usually I would agree with you, but seeing as how I'm 'in love' it doesn't really apply" Hyde pointed out

"then come with me to New York" Chrissy said challengingly

"what?" Hyde asked blankly

"you're not 'in love' with that girl friend of yours, so what's stopping you?"

"being in love aside, I still have a girlfriend that I like a lot and I can't just bail on her man" Hyde told her

"why not? It's not like you have a shot at lasting, it's a high school girlfriend man you've got a shelf life of a year tops" she told him seriously

Hyde didn't know how to respond to that? If he denied what she was saying it would require claiming that he and Jackie were in it for the long haul, and that was a thought that scared the ever-loving hell out of him.

"I'll think about it" he said seriously and left the room.

He felt like a dick but, he was tempted at the idea of leaving point place, he turned the idea over in his head while he walked aimlessly. There wasn't much keeping him there, his mom was gone now – not that anyone knew that yet, besides his friends and Jackie he couldn't think of one damn reason to stay there?

He wasn't too surprised when he looked up and saw that his subconscious had taken him to the Forman's house, but when he opened the sliding door he was surprised by what he saw in the kitchen – Jackie was there with Mrs. Forman, wearing an apron and a liberal amount of flour, the only word at his disposal for how she looked in that moment was 'adorable'.

She was laughing and smiling with kitty while they looked at the burnt disaster of a pie before them on the counter.

"now Jackie what went wrong with this one?" kitty asked her while wiping a tear from her eye from laughing so hard at Jackie's failed pie.

"I wasn't paying attention to the timer because I was telling you a story about Steven?" Jackie asked with feigned regret at her mistake.

"yes honey, now why did I forget to keep an eye on it?" kitty asked with another giggle

"because you kept pumping me for more detail?" Jackie asked, and both of them dissolved into laughter again, neither seemed to care they'd waisted the ingredients – more than once by the look of the trash can.

Hyde gathered his courage and approached Jackie, she smiled brightly when she saw him and kissed him hello carefully to avoid getting flour on him too.

"what's up Steven?" she asked cheerfully while she cleaned up the mess, Kitty left them alone to go fix herself a drink.

"uh, I need to talk to you doll" he said in a low voice and led her outside to talk without Kitty overhearing them.

"ok" Jackie agreed with a worried frown, she knew him well enough to know something was wrong and that whatever it was, she wasn't going to like it much.

She was right.

Hyde told her about meeting the punk chick, making sure to be clear that he hadn't touched her, and then he dropped the bomb – he was thinking about leaving with her to move to New York. When he finished talking he waited for Jackie to respond, but he wasn't sure what he was hoping she'd say? Good luck on your adventure? Or I hope you die in a hole in New York?

Either were viable options, but what she said when he couldn't take the silence anymore was "fine" and shrugged her shoulder with a blank look on her face.

"that's it?" he asked, surprised Jackie of all people had nothing else to say.

"that's it" she confirmed in the same cold blank voice.

"you don't have an opinion on the subject?" he knew he was poking the bear with this question, but he couldn't help it, she had to have some kind of feeling on the whole thing, didn't she?

"what exactly were you hoping for? Did you expect me to cry about you, maybe beg you not to leave me? Sorry to disappoint Steven" she said with tightly controlled anger.

"that's not what's going on here doll, I'm not leaving you for this chick ok? I need for you to understand that" he said seriously

"I understand Steven – you didn't touch the chick you just met, good for you! You're just thinking of leaving forever with her, but you didn't cheat on me so its ok" she said flatly

"no, dammit Jackie! My mom took off with a trucker, I've got no other family around, I'm already going to have to drop out to get a job but if I'm in New York instead of point place not only are there more options, but I won't have to deal with seeing people give me that look of pity! I can't deal with that look man, it seems like the best option since there's nothing here for me doll" he tried to explain how he felt.

"nothing…. I see" she said softly and turned on her heel and left.

It was a full minute and a half before he realized what he'd said.

"dammit!" he yelled angrily

He didn't want to hurt Jackie, it was the last thing he wanted to do, although he was wondering how he was stupid enough not to realize he was callously dumping her instead of asking what she thought about it like he thought he was?

"I am a dumbass" he growled angrily and headed to the basement to think.

His luck for the day held, everyone was there watching TV which didn't give him the solitude he was hoping for to work out what was going on. So instead he told them about possibly going to New York to hear what they thought?

It was heartwarming in a way to see them put their differences aside to tell him he was a moron.

"whatever! You don't get it" he snapped and stormed out of the basement back to his empty house.

After pacing around his living room angrily for about an hour, Hyde ended up dozing off on the couch in a fitful sleep, only to be woken up a while later by a loud angry banging on his door. Half asleep he stumbled over wondering who the hell would be at his door?

"hey Red" he greeted his friend's dad, confused to see him there.

"invite me in dumbass" Red growled by way of greeting

"uh, come on in?" Hyde obeyed nervously

"Steven, I've always tolerated you better than the other dumbasses infesting my house" he began angrily

"appreciated" Hyde said honestly

"but today you took the dumbass crown! Leaving to New York? Are you crazy or just stupid?" he demanded angrily

"whatever I am isn't your concern Red, I'm touched that you care but it's my business" Hyde said defiantly.

Red crossed his arms and gave Hyde a level look "if that's the way you want it to be fine Steven, 'you' aren't my concern" he said with deceptive calm "but Jackie is, and when some short-sighted dumbass dumps her for a reason as stupid as this, I have no choice but to pay said dumbass a visit!" Red shouted the last part in a tone that would make fully grown men cower.

"you talked to Jackie? Is she ok?" Hyde asked, dropping all pretense of cool.

"no, she's not Steven. I found her under the Toyota changing spark plugs through tears, it took me ten minutes to get her to tell me what was wrong, imagine my surprise when the answer was you! And because you were moving away no less! Now let me tell you what you're going to do right this minute" Red said commandingly, pointing one finger at Hyde's chest for emphasis.

"gather up your stuff and get your ass in the car, you're going to stay with us now that your moms gone" he ordered

"how did you know that?" Hyde was stunned at what he was hearing

"Jackie accidently told me when I got her to tell me what was wrong, she was more worried about you than your dumbass deserves! Now don't make me say it again" he snapped, sending Hyde running for his duffle bag and few belongings.

It was an awkward ride back to the Forman's house – which would now be his house too – because Red just glared out the windshield, while Hyde thought of ways to fix his latest screw up with Jackie, he wondered if he'd topped Kelso's record yet? It was a depressing thought.

Red slammed the car door and turned to Hyde.

"you have an hour and a half 'till curfew, if I were you id figure out what to say to her on the walk over" Red said bluntly, before going inside with Hyde's duffle bag in hand.

"right, cus there's words that will fix how fucking stupid I was" he muttered darkly, even while he set off to do as he'd been told.

Soon enough Hyde found himself at Jackie's door, praying Maureen didn't answer the door again – he was embarrassingly intimidated by the elderly Irishwoman with a bun. In his first stroke of luck since meeting Chrissy, Jackie opened the door and saved him from getting reamed by a scary maid.

"what do you want Steven?" she asked sounding tired

"I…. I decided to stay in town" he said uncomfortably

"I thought there was nothing here for you?" Jackie said unemotionally, which he found unnerving.

"I didn't mean it like that doll" he said sounding a lot more stricken than he was comfortable sounding, but he knew it wasn't a time for protecting his pride.

"yes, you did, I'm nothing you don't get to back track now" she said coldly

"Jackie, you're not nothing!" he argued agitatedly

"saying that isn't something you get to take back Steven! You were ready to leave town with some girl you just met, and you didn't care what that would do to me! I'm done" she said somberly and before he could stop her, closed and locked the door.

That was the last conversation he got to have with Jackie for the next two weeks, when he did manage to track her down and almost get a word with her to tell her what he needed to – Red sent him packing. As far as Hyde could tell, Jackie told Red the whole story and although she wouldn't give up working on the cars with Red to avoid Hyde, Red was more than comfortable playing bouncer to the garage and baring Hyde's entrance.

He was now spending most of his free time laying on his cot in the basement, staring at the ceiling and wishing he didn't miss Jackie so much. It was totally lame how badly he missed her, his life had gone back to basically what it'd been before he'd been with her and it fucking sucked! How the hell had he lived like this so long? It was boring and lonely and pathetic, and he missed nearly everything about her to the point where he got pissed off at being around anyone who wasn't her.

Forman found him sulking in his room and sat in the chair across from his oldest friend with the intent of trying to help him, but what came out was.

"what's your damn problem man?!" Forman cried angrily

"back off Forman" Hyde warned from where he lay,

"no man, not this time, I let a lot slide with you Hyde, all that crap you pulled with donna all the times you burn me for no reason, I let it slide because your still my best friend even when you're a dick, but you've surpassed 'bad mood' now and since you live here could you get over it or at least tell me what the hell is wrong?" he demanded

"Jackie and I split" Hyde said despondently

"what? Why man?" he'd had no idea

"cus of the New York thing" Hyde answered shortly

"tell me Hyde" Forman said seriously, "all this time you haven't explained how you ended up with her or if it was a scam or what, tell me" he asked earnestly

Hyde sat up and held his head in his hands "I'm not really up to you starting to hate me right now Forman" Hyde admitted part of his reluctance to level with his oldest friend.

"I won't be pissed at you man, I want to understand what's going on" Forman promised

And so, Hyde told him everything, the conversation at the ski cabin that led to their original agreement, the events and conversations that turned it into a different kind of relationship, the moment Hyde had realized how much he really liked Jackie…all of it. The portion where he had to admit what he'd done back then to try and get donna, was hard to say, but Forman didn't react to it. When Hyde finished talking he braced for Forman to scream at him and tell him to get out of the house for good.

"Hyde man, you've got to go talk to her" Forman said seriously

"that's it? You aren't going to kick me out and say were not friends anymore?" Hyde asked skeptically

Forman raised an eyebrow at the question "why would I do that? I want you to fix things with Jackie, because, shockingly she's my…friend now? That was weird to say, anyway, I want you to fix it but I'm not going to turn my back on you over it" Forman told him looking confused

"I meant because of what I tried with donna then" Hyde explained

"uh, Hyde buddy? You weren't as subtle back then as you thought you were, I knew what you were doing and even though it bugged me, it wasn't enough to make me hate you" Forman shocked him by saying.

"you knew?" Hyde asked stricken

"again buddy, you weren't subtle" Forman laughed

"I miss Jackie man" Hyde admitted softly, he hated to admit it but he had to because it was eating at him from the inside.

"figure out a way to get her to listen to you, and when she does – and this is important – tell her the truth!" Forman advised with a shout.

"this 'truth' concept you speak of, how does one go about it?" Hyde asked with a smirk, but he also needed some guidance too.

"well, when you open your mouth, say what you mean even if it makes you sound like a girl" Forman told him bluntly.

"got it" Hyde nodded comprehension, but still felt uneasy about the whole thing, it was just such a foreign concept.

He was about to give up on the whole thing when he saw the picture of he and Jackie at prom, and it hit him all over again how much of a gaping, soul crushing chasm of hell her absence had made. First opportunity he got he was going to level with her.

That opportunity came under unexpected circumstances.

Kitty had sent them to pick up Red at Charlies bar after his last day at the plant, but when they'd gotten there he'd refused to leave and instead they ended up drinking with him.

"hello, mother? This is your son Eric, I'm not feeling well"

"I'm on my way" Kitty said and hung up the phone

"what's going on?" Jackie asked sounding concerned

"I sent the boys to pick up red from Charlies bar, and now I need to go pick up all of them up" Kitty explained wearily

"do you want me to watch the chicken in the oven?" Jackie offered helpfully

"uh, no honey ill just…ill just…. have you pick them up, a ha ha ha" Kitty laughed nervously to avoid being rude about Jackie's track record during their cooking lessons, she was fine mixing the ingredients but always forgot to keep an eye on whatever was cooking.

"Mrs. Forman, I don't think I can deal with Steven – especially drunk Steven" Jackie admitted

"I understand Jackie, I really do, but I really need your help with this, I can't leave the chicken and we both know you'll forget to take it out on time, now normally that's ok but I don't have any back up dinner tonight, and I have to get them out of that bar. But, if you're really not up to doing it I understand" she said sincerely

"no Mrs. Forman, I can do it" Jackie said with a note of steal in her voice

"oh, thank you honey!" Kitty said, and gave her a hug before sending her on her way.

Jackie drove through town until she saw the familiar neon sign that read Charlie's bar, and pulled into the parking lot. She took a deep breath to ready herself for facing Steven while wrangling a group of drunk guys at the same time. best case scenario she'd have to resort to using her shrillest bossiest voice to get them all in the car so she could be done with the whole thing.

"hey Mr. Forman, I'm here to take all of you back to the house" she said softly

"hey Jackie! It's great to see you kiddo, sit down and have a beer" Red said happily, and began introducing her to the other drunks and the bar tender, when Hyde stumbled over.

"Jackie!" he cried happily "oh doll, I missed you so much! I'm so glad you're here" Hyde slurred and caught her up in a bear hug, nuzzling his face into her neck and breathing in her scent he'd missed almost as much as he'd missed her.

"you're drunk Steven" Jackie said softly, while trying to extricate herself from his embrace politely

"I know, but that's a good thing, you know why?" he asked seriously

"why Steven?" she asked playing along so he'd get in the car without a fuss

"cus now that I'm drunk it's not as scary to tell you how I feel, can I tell you how I feel doll?" he asked hopefully

"maybe later Steven" Jackie said evasively, she didn't want to talk to him almost as much as she didn't want to see him at all.

"oh, come on kiddo! He hasn't shut up about how much he likes you all damn night, let him talk to you for a minute and I promise if he upsets you I'll put my foot up his ass" Red said loudly

"ok Steven, you've got three minutes" Jackie said resignedly and followed him to the empty far corner of the bar so they could talk in privacy.

"I miss you" he began still sounding more drunk than anything else.

"ok" Jackie replied blankly

"do you miss me at all?" he checked nervously

"you only have two minutes left" Jackie evaded the question

"I miss you" he said again, sounding sadder than before

"you said that already, how drunk are you Steven?" she asked with a glimmer of concern for him.

"hardly at all" he replied seriously

"yeah ok, times up Steven, it's time to go home now" Jackie lied just wanting the whole thing to be over

"I still have over a minute left doll, there's a clock behind you and I told you already I'm not that drunk" Hyde said sounding disturbingly lucid

"fine, if you're not that drunk I don't have to be that nice, say your piece so I can get all of you home" she said dangerously

"I miss you so much doll, I never meant to hurt you and when I said there was nothing for me here I didn't mean you, because you're not nothing Jackie, you're so far from being nothing to me I don't want to think about it because it freaks me out. I don't know what to say to fix what I did, I know I fucked up, I want to be with you and I will do whatever it takes, please believe me doll, please" he was nearly begging at that point, but he was willing to downright grovel if it meant she'd curl up on the couch against him again while they watched tv.

"help me get them all home safely and I'll listen to you for more than three minutes" Jackie offered him a deal, and he jumped at the chance.

He hustled the guys out to the car with skill, and kept them under wraps during the drive back. After they'd deposited Red and Eric in the kitchen Jackie kept up her end of the bargain and followed Hyde down to his room so he could say his piece.

Hyde flipped on the radio to cover their conversation and stared at Jackie for a moment.

"say what you want to say Steven so I can go home" Jackie said in a tired voice, it had been a long day

"my mom split and I wanted to run away from this town, when I was talking about it to you I wasn't trying to say I wanted to leave you doll, I was just trying to explain how fucked up everything in my life was besides you, I'm not good with all this mushy romantic crap, and you already know I honest to god like you, but..." Hyde swallowed hard

"but what Steven?" she asked gently, when she thought about it she understood what he meant about wanting to run away from the place where his own mother bailed on him.

"I don't know what it is I'm feeling for sure, because I've never been the type of person to think too much about what I'm feeling, but if I had to guess what it is I feel about you then I'd have to say…" taking a deep breath, Hyde reached out and slowly pulled her into his arms "there's a very real chance I'm falling for you doll" he murmured into her ear.

"I don't understand?" Jackie whispered sounding scared

"I mean that, this is the closest to whatever 'love' is that I've ever felt Jackie, and it physically hurts that I'm not with you, did you know it makes your chest ache to miss someone?" he asked still surprised about this.

"yes Steven, I knew that" Jackie said softly, her fingers tightening on him thoughtlessly

"does it – does it hurt for you?" he asked terrified she would say 'no'

"all day long Steven" Jackie murmured fighting back tears

"can you give me another chance doll? I swear I wasn't trying to dump you and leave town" he promised fervently

"ok" Jackie mumbled into his lapel while tears ran down her face

"I swear Jackie, no more misunderstandings no more fuck ups, were going to get the hang of all this together and I promise I'll tell you what's on my mind if you can promise to cut me some slack for sucking at it all" he offered gently

"were going to mess up Steven, were too young to be good at this stuff, but I want you - I'm sure of that, so if you mean it that you'll try harder than I will too" she promised fervently

"I'll do anything doll, if it means were us again" Hyde told her honestly

"that's what I want too Steven" Jackie said laying her head against his chest while he swayed her back and forth soothingly, until on a whim he twirled her in time to the music playing over the radio, making Jackie smile, which soothed the ache he'd learned to live with while apart from her.

"why are we dancing?" she asked sweetly

"why not?" he shrugged with a smirk

"what song is this playing?" she asked curiously as they continued to dance slowly in the center of his tiny room.

Hyde listened closer to see if he recognized it, he'd only been paying attention to Jackie until then.

"uh, I think it's called 'try me'?" he guessed from the repeated lyric

"who's singing it?"

"James brown"

"can this be our song?" she asked expecting him to shut her mushy idea down, but she was in for a surprise

"that's fine with me doll, anything you want I'll do right now" he admitted without pride or ego, he just wanted her back.

"I want you to be happy enough with me that you don't want to run away anymore" she admitted sadly

"I don't want to run away from you Jackie, I never did, and I swear doll, if I decide I have to run I'm definitely taking you with me" he admitted the reality of it now.

"sounds good to me" she whispered with a tone that caught his attention and made him worry.

"aside from me being a dumbass, is everything ok doll?" he asked, pulling away just enough that he could see her face.

"not really, but I can handle it if I'm not crying over you" she said grinning up at him

"what's going on?" he was concerned now, being one of the few people who had any idea about what her family was really like.

"lots of fighting, lots of stupid, lots of the same thing as always" she said with an untroubled shrug, her parents were like they'd always been. She could handle them, she could handle anything except – it seemed – losing her scruffy partner in crime.

"what are you going to do?" Hyde asked

"shine it on until I can't anymore, and come up with a plan when I have to" she replied, still dancing slowly with him to the old song.

"think I'll be part of that plan?" he asked with total self-serving curiosity

"as of right now you are, the rest is up to you" she informed him seriously

"I made my choice" Hyde assured her softly pulling her closer

"me too" Jackie sighed happily.

A/N so that went on longer than I meant but I wanted to get from point a to point b, and now I have. I hope it's not too much at once, but I have a sort of time jump plan for what's next in this story so I needed to cover a lot of ground, also I wanted them cemented at last. Let me know what you think.

Also, I should mention I couldn't stand looking at the screen anymore and am posting this as soon as the spell check is done, so if I made a lot of mistakes – sorry and I'll try to go back and fix them later, so try to bear with me if there's parts that are hard to follow


	6. Chapter 6

A/N so, I'm aware that I suck and haven't updated in forever, but all I can really say about that is – I couldn't think of anything. Sad, but true. But I'm back now, and hopefully this chapter turns out ok, fingers crossed, cus I barely have any of it planned (as usual) and will be making it up as I go (also as usual) so let's see where it goes together.

Hyde had been up since dawn working on something that had popped into his mind the night before as he lay in bed thinking over the day he'd had. Jackie was in trouble and after tossing and turning while he tried to think of a solution, one had finally popped into his head. It had taken hold of him and after hours of working out the details on a battered notebook, he was sure he had it figured out all he needed was for her to be on board.

The last year had been a crazy ride for Hyde, his life had changed in ways he never would have thought were possible if you'd asked him at the start. He lived with the Forman's, he had a job, he showed up to school and strangest of all – he was in an actual honest to god 'relationship'.

When he had first asked Jackie to be his girlfriend it had been a sudden move, a solution to both their problems at the time, but before he had been aware of what was happening it had turned into something different, something so much more.

If people had asked him how they'd gone from a couple of convenience to an actual committed couple (assuming anyone ever found out how they had begun dating) he could have easily given them some line about how she wormed her way in with her usual tenaciousness, or said that under the shallow façade she was actually perfect for him, a counterpoint to his personality, But none of that was really why he was with Jackie, the reason was simple, the reason was obvious, the reason was private and even Jackie didn't know what it was.

But she was about to find out.

After Hyde swallowed his pride and told Jackie he wanted her for real that night in his room, dancing slowly around the tiny space, change after change rippled through the basements inhabitants. They watched together as donna began to act out more and more as her parents' marriage broke apart, each of them tried to help her see what she was doing in their own way, which unfortunately led to his and Jackie's biggest fight since their break up.

"so, let me get this straight? You went over there to get booze for Reds birthday present – when you could easily get him something else or the same thing from another place, and had a heart to heart talk with Donna about what it's like when your parents forget to parent?" Jackie had asked in a deceptively cool tone,

"it was the easiest way to get a gift doll" he shrugged, unconcerned with such a small event.

"whatever Steven, is this ever going to stop?" she asked bluntly

"is what ever going to stop?" he asked blankly, he honestly had no idea why her mood was slipping into the danger zone.

"donna had a problem and there you are with a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on, never mind that it wasn't your place to be there for her it was Eric's, never mind that you have a long history of being a dill hole about her, or that you promised me you'd stop doing this crap, nope, you just couldn't help but commiserate with her" Jackie wasn't even mad at him while she'd laid it out, which was what worried him the most, she was calm, and Jackie calm was like witnessing the eye of a hurricane.

"it was nothing Jackie, everything else aside, she and I have been friends for a long time and she's having a rough time with her folks" he defended himself and his motives.

"do you really believe that? After everything we've talked about over and over again, do you really believe that you having a private heart to heart with donna is cool? That it won't hurt Eric, that it won't hurt me for you to do that?" she asked in a soft voice'

"Jackie, it wasn't the same as before, she was just upset and I know what it's like to deal with that kind of stuff" he defended again, but he'd begun to doubt his actions now that he realized how much he didn't want to have to tell Forman about talking to donna.

"can you look me dead in the eye and tell me this wasn't at all like the crap you used to pull?" Jackie demanded bluntly.

Hyde had taken a deep breath and met Jackie's beautiful mismatched eyes feeling calm and sure.

"this wasn't like all that doll, I promise" he told her with all the reassuring honesty he could pour into one sentence.

Jackie had just stared back at him with a look he couldn't identify, but made him feel uneasy.

"even if that's true, I don't like the way this feels, I got to go" she'd told him briskly and before he could process what was happening, she was gone.

Hyde felt so worried he was sick for 29 straight phone calls, until Jackie finally picked up on number 30 and confirmed that they were still together but she was upset and would be for a while, especially if he kept acting like he didn't see how what he'd done hurt her.

The next few weeks were rocky between them, they didn't sit together, or spend time alone but whenever he asked her if they were ok? Jackie always gave the same answer 'I'm still in if you are' but the sadness in her voice when she said it let him know that it was up to him to show her he was telling the truth. Forman's angry reaction when he heard about donna confiding in Hyde instead of him didn't help Hyde feel like his actions were above board.

The whole debacle hadn't ended how he would have guessed though,

After a hunting trip to get away from it all and gain some perspective, Hyde arrived back home with the others and was greeted by a welcome sight, a smiling Jackie. She didn't run up to him and jump into his arms like he'd privately been hoping she would (every night while he tried to sleep and his gut was twisted in a knot), but she did let him stand next to her and didn't pull her hand away when he took it in his, while they listened to Kitty tell Red about how Jackie had hustled Midge, Donna and Laurie at poker.

During the story, Hyde glanced at Jackie and saw a tiny smirk on her face at the tale of how she'd pretended she'd never played poker before, then claimed beginners luck while she took them to the cleaners over and over.

"they really bought that you'd never played cards before? How'd you pull that off?" Hyde asked in an amused whisper while Kitty and Red laughed about how indignant Midge and Donna had been.

"it was easy really, turns out no one knows anything about me" she'd shrugged with just a hint of sadness that people she spent so much time around didn't bother to pay attention to a single thing about her.

"that's not true doll" Hyde tried to assure her,

"yes, it is Steven" she'd replied simply

"I do" he admitted after a long pause and internal struggle, he hated being mushy but he hated how things had been between them even more.

All his statement earned him though, was a non-comital noise from Jackie, which made a corresponding pang of sadness in him.

'emotions suck!' Hyde thought darkly, years he'd been free of them and then one outspoken brunette whose hair barrettes always matched her shoes had come along and ruined it.

"I know that you learned to play cards by sitting with your dad during his weekly game when you were a kid, I know that you look at money as a way to keep score and not much else, I know that you don't trust that anyone cares about you because your parents suck, and I know that I screwed up and let you feel like that again and even though I swear on anything possible that I was only there for donna as a friend, I'm sorry it made you feel bad at all" he told her quietly

"I'm sorry too" Jackie whispered sadly

"you don't need to be doll" Hyde told her seriously, he knew he'd been in the wrong yet again.

"of course, I do, you're not always the one who did the wrong thing Steven, I was – I am insecure about how you feel about Donna, and I don't know if it'll ever stop? No matter how good things with us are I'm never going to be able to forget that I wasn't your first choice, hell, I wasn't a choice at all, and that sucks and it hurts and it made me over react to what you did, I know you were just being a good friend, I know that I shouldn't have accused you of still trying to get donna's attention when you were just being a good guy, but I really wish sometimes that I was the one you wanted all along instead of 'grew to like'" Jackie admitted with heart breaking honesty.

"so, wait, I didn't screw up?" Hyde had asked dumbfounded, that was a shock.

"no, not this time, not really. About all I can legitimately say against what you did was you probably should have told Eric sooner than you did, but even that's a reach" Jackie told him still looking far too sad for his liking.

"I did grow to like you, I can't change that, but if it helps at all – I really wish I could change it, I am about to say something that if you ever repeat – even in private! I will deny with all the strength in my body!" Hyde began by saying adamantly, then his face softened and he cupped Jackie's confused face in his hands and gathered his courage for what he was about to say.

"I have – on occasion when I can't sleep – imagined what it would have been like to find out about you sooner, like – if we'd been friends as kids and then realized we liked each other, stuff like that" he admitted awkwardly, his face turning a definite shade of red with embarrassment.

"you…you daydreamed scenarios about us?" Jackie asked him amazed he was capable of such a thing.

"yes ok! I've fucked up a lot in my life, which is impressive if you consider that I haven't been alive that long, and most of it doesn't bother me at all, but knowing that you were right there all that time and I missed out on you because I didn't bother to pay attention?! Fucking kills me doll" he admitted his secret with a pained tone and unconsciously pulled her closer to reassure himself she was with him.

"it bothers me too" Jackie admitted into his shirt

"really?" Hyde felt his ego take its first breath in weeks

"of course, Steven, I love you" Jackie said off handedly, not realizing what she'd said, but Hyde was stunned by those three small, but world altering words.

Pulling back to stare at her in a mixture of awe and fear, words failed him.

Jackie had looked confused at his sudden change until it dawned on her what she had just said to him.

"oh, my god Steven, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to say that" Jackie said nervously, beyond embarrassed at her slip, truthful as it had been.

Another silence on his part followed until he replied with the only thing his brain could form.

"I can't say it back!" he had almost shouted, something that would cause him endless chagrin later.

"I don't care" Jackie told him kindly

"you say that now, but someday you're going to hate me for not being able to say it" Hyde claimed

"I'd rather never hear those words than have them be a lie Steven" Jackie assured him and hugged him tightly

"makes sense" Hyde nodded thoughtfully

"well I am brilliant Steven" Jackie joked in a haughty voice, but he knew the smile on her face well and couldn't help but grin in response.

"I care about you, that's the best I can do right now" Hyde murmured into her ear from where his head was buried against her shoulder.

"that'll hold me over for a long time" Jackie assured him sweetly.

And it was the truth. Occasionally Jackie would utter the words Hyde feared, but it was a rare occurrence and somehow when she said it, she did it in a way that didn't require a response? This in no way meant she had matured beyond her love of romance though, Jackie could and would, talk at great length about weddings and how she would decorate her house when she had one of her own, but she never tried to pressure Hyde into being a part of her plans, it was more along the lines of an open invitation.

They were good, they happy, they were a team.

When Forman and donna began to fall apart they worked as a unit to deal with the side effects. When the troubled couple tried to make Jackie and Hyde take sides in an argument, they presented a united front when Forman and donna assumed they would each take a side.

And when they inevitably broke up, and donna tried to lure the gang to her house and away from the basement, it was Jackie that showed her why Chex mix and cable weren't going to work.

"donna, do you really think that I come here for the quality of snacks and entertainment?" she had begun in a truly scathing tone "be serious, if you want people to think you're smart don't say such dumb things, I live in a mansion, with a live in maid and a pool, have you really been under the delusion that it's the piggily wiggly diet cream soda and tattered couch that brings me here? Let me be very clear when I say – it isn't, so don't bother trying to lure me to your side with slightly better amenities than the basement offers, because it has nothing to do with why I come here"

The rest of them had watched with rapt attention while Jackie cut donna down to size, and it had occurred to them all that what she said was true, her house was better than donna's or the basement, so what was it that brought Jackie there at all?

"home isn't always where you live Steven" Jackie had replied simply when he'd asked her about it later while they were alone, and those words stuck with him over the next several months.

As he watched Jackie's home life deteriorate more and more, her words played in his mind more often, then it all came crashing down and her father was arrested for bribery. it ripped her world apart and left Hyde bumbling for the right words to say or the right thing to do to make her feel better. Shaving off the hated beard had been a quick fix to cheer her up a little, but he wasn't stupid and he knew the effect would wear off soon. When it inevitably did though, he had bigger problems to deal with.

they caught Jackie in his cot and began discussing what should be done about her without bothering to consult her, but they also banned her from staying with him anymore, and it was all he could do not to let them see how pissed off he was about it.

His cot sucked under the best of circumstances, but now that he didn't have Jackie there with him it was impossible to get comfortable! All the shit they'd been through lately, Forman running off to California to get donna, fez's obsession with the dmv, Kelsos never ending attempts to get Jackie back, and now Jackie's security (not to mention future) were uncertain and it kept Hyde from sleep!

All he could do was worry about her, he knew the adults were planning on having donna ask Jackie to stay with her and Bob, but all donna had done was act like it was a burden and he knew when she asked all she would do was humiliate Jackie. there had to be a better answer than forcing Jackie to stay where she wasn't wanted and wouldn't be able to forget it for one moment.

He couldn't stand letting that happen to her, and every part of him screamed out for action! He didn't care about much, but he couldn't pretend he didn't care about Jackie, there had to be something he could do?

For the second time in his life a flash of an idea came to him, and just like the first time at the ski cabin, it took ahold of him and he was absolutely certain it was the answer. All he had to do was see if Jackie agreed.

That presented no real trouble, for all he'd matured he still could sneak out with skill, and he did precisely that. Skulking up the stairs without a sound until he reached the door to Laurie's room where they'd put Jackie until another solution could be found, well, he'd found one and his gut told him it was the best idea he'd ever had.

"Jackie, Jackie, wake up doll" Hyde whispered while he shook her gently.

"Steven? What's going on?" she asked groggily

"I thought of what we can do about you not having anywhere safe to stay" he told her, anxious to get on with said plan.

"you do? What?" she asked trying to clear the sleep from her eyes and absorb what he told her.

"I'll tell you after I get the only issue out of the way" he said to her surprise

"you woke me up at 3 am to tell me you have a plan, but you won't tell me what it is?" she couldn't follow what he was thinking there.

"well I was going to ask you what you thought about it, then I decided not to" he half explained,

"so, what do I do?" she asked curiously

"just be ready" he said mysteriously and kissed her before he left again.

It was a long drive to where he needed to go and the sooner he set off the sooner he'd get there, and the sooner he could execute his plan, which was becoming something that would wreck him if it failed.

'home isn't always where you live'

It hadn't been a fun trip, Hyde had been forced to let his worse self-shine though, but after some well-placed threats and a hint of blackmail, he had what he needed. Now all he had to do was find Jackie before she was humiliated in front of everyone she cared about, with how awful her parents had treated her through her dad's problems, he didn't think she could handle much more and she sure as hell shouldn't have to.

But even though he'd broken the speed limit with gusto on his way back home, he still walked into the kitchen right when Donna was giving the most pathetic effort ever.

"so, since your having such a hard time, we all thought you should come stay with me for a while"

"I'm Jackie Burkhart, I don't have hard times!" Jackie said with flashing eyes, he'd been too late, they'd bruised her already fragile pride.

"Jackie come on, your dads in jail and your mom abandoned you, what else are you going to do?" Donna asked in a tone that made Hyde wish Jackie wasn't opposed to violence.

How dare she hit Jackie with those realities when Jackie had been nothing but kind when midge left?!

"she's going to live with me" Hyde interjected casually

Just as he expected, every face in the kitchen turned to him with identical looks of shock, well, except for Jackie. He saw surprise flash across her face before she carefully composed her expression again, he'd said 'be ready' and so she was.

"Steven honey, we can't allow that, not only is it wrong to live in sin, but Jackie's a minor, its illegal for her to live with you" kitty explained gently, she didn't want to make Jackie suffer any more than she already had, but what he was saying just wasn't going to work.

"please understand that I'm not being rude when I say this Mrs. Forman," Hyde began seriously, giving his foster parents a pleading look "but it's not up to you"

"Steven, I respect that you want to take care of your girlfriend, and even if we got over you two living together without being married, it's still illegal son" Red told him, with a proud note for Hyde trying to step up and be responsible.

"it won't be when were married" he said with a shrug, but his eyes were locked on Jackie's reaction, her eyes were wide, but not with fear, with happiness and excitement. "do you want to marry me doll?" he asked as casually as he could manage while his heart was hammering against his chest, if his arms hadn't been crossed they would have easily been able to see his hands shaking with fear.

Jackie stared back at him and finally nodded her head 'yes'

"ok then, its settled" Hyde said as if the matter was finished.

"it is certainly not settled!" kitty cried adamantly "Steven, Jackie's only 17, you can't marry her without a parent's permission and the whole problem is we can't get ahold of her mother! And even then, marriage isn't something you do because it's a solution to a problem, its forever Steven and it's for when you're in love, not stuck in a tough situation" she tried to reason with him, even while part of her brain wanted to start planning a wedding for her beloved kids.

"I just got back from the prison where jack Burkhart is, he uh…gave his permission for me to marry Jackie, its right here" he said, holding up an envelope which held a letter phrased by Jackie's lawyer father that would allow her to marry as a minor.

"how did you get him to agree to that?" Red asked curiously, while helping Jackie with her household papers he had learnt of her trust fund which would be in her father's control until she was 25 or got married, he couldn't see jack Burkhart giving away access to that money without a fight.

"we had a nice talk, and he saw that it was the best for Jackie" Hyde lied, refusing to meet reds eye.

The truth was, Hyde knew more than a few of jack's fellow inmates from when they'd dated Edna, and he was more than willing to use them and what they were capable of to get jack to agree, always the business man, jack Burkhart saw the risk and reward of agreeing to what Hyde wanted very quickly, and wrote out a letter of consent after about fifteen minutes of Hyde explaining what would become his new reality if he didn't.

"well then, I guess it is settled" Red nodded approvingly.

"what the hell?!" donna cried angrily "you've been torturing Eric and I for being engaged for weeks, but all they get is 'I guess that's settled'?"

"I have to agree, what the hell dad?" Eric said more calmly than donna

"look son, I've watched you and donna break up and get back together more times than I can count, so excuse the hell out of me if I don't foresee a smooth future for you two, marriage is serious business, not something you decide to do to feel like a grown up!" Red snapped at them.

"well what about them?" Eric asked pointing to Jackie and Hyde who had now moved to stand together, and were whispering to each other with almost identical smiles on their faces.

"I'd put money on Steven having a plan for them that's not stupid" Red said with a deep certainty that made Hyde feel proud

"I do yeah" Hyde confirmed, then saw that everyone was expecting him to tell them the plan, and rolled his eyes.

"I talked to Roy at work and he offered me the night manager job, its easy and comes with a residence as part of the salary, so basically Jackie and I can live there for free, which means she doesn't have to get a job and can keep focusing on school" he told them grudgingly, he wanted to run that part past Jackie in private because he was afraid she wouldn't like living at the hotel in a little apartment.

"what about collage?" Donna asked indignantly

"I wasn't planning on going before all this, and Jackie has a collage fund her folks can't touch cuss it's from her grandmother, so when she's ready to go to school me and my skill as a short order cook will follow" Hyde snapped irritably at his old friend who he wasn't too pleased with just then.

"I guess it really is settled then" kitty mused softly, then laughed and grabbed Jackie to hop excitedly "were going to plan a wedding!" she cried happily, making Jackie's face light up, if the Forman's were ok with it she had nothing left to worry about.

-Later that night in the basement bedroom-

"Steven?" Jackie called from the corner of the cot where she sat scribbling in a notebook

"yeah doll?" he answered sitting up in his chair to give her his attention

"why marriage?" she asked curiously

"what do you mean?"

"well, you could have just as easily gotten my dad to write you permission for me to live with you until I'm 18" she explained

Hyde smirked at her and crossed the room to sit on the cot and gather Jackie into his arms.

"I know doll, but I want to marry you" he admitted sounding shy

"you do?!" she hadn't expected that to be part of it

"do you have to sound so shocked?" he asked slightly offended

"I do yes" Jackie replied seriously "explain" she asked softly, her heart in her eyes

Hyde took a deep breath before letting her in on all his secrets.

"you're my family doll, wherever we are is home because I'm there with you, I…. love you, and I want you to know that no matter what else happens to us, were in it together" he tried to put into words how he felt about her.

"I love you too" Jackie breathed back, it was the only answer she could think of.

"that'll come in handy I'm guessing" Hyde smirked at her, then turned serious again "I don't take this lightly Jackie, I want you to know I'm serious about all of it, especial you" Hyde told her urgently

"and I want you to know that I didn't say yes to avoid living with donna, I want you" she told him seriously

"do you now?" he asked with a raised eyebrow

"don't let it go to your head" Jackie drawled, then smiled and kissed him.

THE END

A/N so, depending on feedback this is the last chapter, unless people want a wedding and happily ever after epilogue this is the end, if you don't want it to be let me know and I'll think about doing one more, but otherwise….


	7. Chapter 7

I own nothing, I keep forgetting to point out the obvious

A/N so yesterday when I posted the last chapter I felt done with the whole story, I knew I could add a wedding epilogue and a 'where they ended up' part if people wanted it, but other than that I was done, and then wouldn't you know it? This part came together in my head, so here we go.

Also, I don't usually do this but, this is dedicated to .case,

For someone viewing his life from the outside, Hyde getting married at 18 would probably seem like the craziest thing happening in his life, that person would not know the true crazy of Mrs. Forman and Jackie wedding planning!

From the kitchen to the den, and a few areas on the second story it was wedding stuff as far as the eye could see, Red hadn't left the garage in days, Hyde was currently hiding in his room and last, he'd seen, Forman was caught up helping make wedding favors – which seemed to involve tying candy up in tiny pieces of white netting? He didn't pretend to understand and he didn't want to frankly.

But overall, Hyde was calm. He was sitting in his chair holding a book he'd intended to read but had only been staring at for almost an hour while he thought about marrying Jackie.

It occurred to him he should be scared or nervous? Possibly thinking of a way to run far, far away? But all had actually done so far was shine his boots and settle down with a book. He wasn't scared to get married, and that confused the hell out of him.

Yes, he could admit he had fallen in love with Jackie, he loved the tiny whirlwind more than he thought was possible, but he should still feel weird about getting married, shouldn't he? they'd only been together a year, they were still in high school, the circumstances under which he had decided on marriage were out of the ordinary to say the least, he should be sweating bullets and looking for an exit! But all he was really thinking of was how to tell Jackie and everyone else that even though they were very young, he could and would take care of her?

He was writing crappy variations of 'I swear I won't bail' in the margins of his battered copy of 1984, when there was a knock on the door, as he called out that it was open he held out hope that it was Jackie, but for one thing – she didn't knock, and for another, with the wedding almost there he'd been expecting his friends to start dropping in to question his motives, sanity, and a few other things.

"doors open" he called out, he could hear how unenthusiastic he sounded and wondered if whoever it was could as well?

The door creaked open and Forman walked in, Hyde was in no way surprised to see his oldest friend there, he'd been expecting it for a while.

"what's up Forman?" he asked casually

"you're marrying Jackie this week, did you really think we weren't going to talk about this?" Forman asked as he sat on the edge of hides cot and gave him a serious look

"I hoped" Hyde replied with a grin

"man, come on! What are you thinking?! This is totally insane and you know it" Forman said agitatedly

"she's my chick, so watch your mouth Forman. Look man, I get it, your pissed that your folks are on board with us getting hitched but not you and big red, and admittedly on paper you two make more sense than us, but that's just surfacy crap" Hyde explained calmly

"we don't just make more sense on paper Hyde, we've been together for most of our lives and were going to be together for the rest of our lives too, you and Jackie have only been together a year and let's be honest here, you two didn't exactly get together for the normal reasons" Forman said defensively, Hyde knew from his tone that he needed to approach this delicately, but that sounded like effort and he wasn't in the mood to beat around the bush.

"Forman man, you're like my brother so I take no joy in what I'm about to say" Hyde told him sternly, and took his glasses off to make actual eye contact with his friend.

"do you remember that first really big fight you and donna had? The one where she wanted to be a career oriented, non-baby making adult? And she called you a sexist pig for wanting to have kids with her?" Hyde asked seriously

"yeah, but that was a long time ago Hyde" Forman brushed off the point Hyde was getting at

"no Forman, that first fight was a long time ago, but that wasn't the end of it, it's the same reason you guys split up for so long, you wanted an old-fashioned commitment, the same thing your parents had – and there's nothing wrong with that, but you both keep glossing over the fact that that is not what donna wants" Hyde said more forcefully than he intended.

"it's different now" Forman defended weakly

"I've been telling you since the second grade that you can't lie worth crap, especially to me. You need to listen to me Forman, I'm not saying this because I want to make you feel bad – I steel your GI joes for that – I'm saying this because you're my friend, all that shit that made you guys miserable and break up is still there, ignoring it didn't make it go away. She's still going to put herself and her dreams first, and that's fine if you're single, but the reason no one is taking your engagement seriously is because it comes across like you guys just want to play house, you can't use a bathroom with her anywhere near for Christ sake man!" Hyde pointed out exasperatedly

"fuck" Forman murmured as what Hyde said sunk in.

"I'm sorry man, I know you love her but do you really think you guys can get married and it'll fix all the shit you've been ignoring?" Hyde asked more kindly, he didn't want to see his adopted brother go down a road that would inevitably make him unhappy, because he and donna couldn't be honest with each other.

"ok yeah, I now see that donna and I have a lot to talk about, but my point is still – why are you and Jackie getting married? She could have just lived with donna for a few months until she turned 18 and then you two could have moved in together, there were options besides being legally bound together" Forman said still looking concerned which made Hyde listen to him instead of punching him.

"why did you ask donna to marry you?" Hyde asked pointedly

"because I love her and I wanted to make a life with her, although admittedly that plan is on hiatus until donna and I have a rather serious discussion, but the point remains" Forman told him seriously

"I asked Jackie out on a whim, she was hurting and lonely and vulnerable to Kelso's bullshit, I wanted to help her avoid him until she was back on her feet, and then I realized she could keep me from turning into the dirt bag people said I was. It was a great plan, we got along well enough when no one was around we could date without issue" he recounted thoughtfully

"you can't marry someone on a whim Hyde" Forman pointed out with his usual animated gestures.

"it's not a whim Forman, she's already a part of me, the weddings just letting her have a party" he admitted with considerable difficulty, telling people the inner workings of his mind was not something Hyde enjoyed.

Forman stared at his best friend for a long time with an inscrutable expression, Hyde knew there were probably a thousand things Forman wanted to say, but there weren't many that would allow him to leave Hyde's room bruise free.

"can I stand next to you during the ceremony?" Forman asked after a long silence

This managed to shock Hyde, the ceremony was going to be a small quick thing, but he had to admit Forman standing up there with him was appealing, there was just one problem.

"thanks Forman, that would mean a lot to me but…there's no one to stand with Jackie and I can't do that to her" he explained with a hint of sadness.

Forman frowned "what about donna?" he asked reasonably, he operated under the impression that donna was Jackie's best friend.

"donna hasn't been too cool to Jackie lately man" Hyde pointed out

"what? That's not true, their like best friends" Forman denied

"Forman, you had to point out to donna that Jackie was her best friend like – three days ago! And her response was 'oh crap', that's not really what Jackie's probably looking for in a bridesmaid" Hyde explained realistically

"fair point" Forman admitted with a nod, "if I can think of someone to stand with Jackie, can I be your best man?" he asked hopefully

"sure, thing man" Hyde agreed with a small smile, he didn't think there was much hope of him finding someone Jackie was cool with, but it was nice he was trying. Hyde would never admit it, but, he was touched that Forman cared enough to try.

Once Forman left he settled down with his book again, and continued to not see a single word, it occurred to him that he didn't want to sit alone and read, there was something he wanted to do – somewhere he wanted to be.

In a rush, he dropped the poor book and rushed out of his room, intent on finding a specific someone, unfortunately he ran straight into Kelso.

"well, well, well, if it isn't Hyde!" Kelso cried angrily

"I'm not in the mood man, you got a problem? Keep it to yourself" Hyde warned, he wasn't kidding that his patience for whatever Kelso wanted to bitch about – didn't exist.

"I don't think so Hyde, you're going to marry Jackie when you know she's my girl" Kelso said stupidly confident that he spoke the truth.

"I'm giving you one chance to shut the fuck up before I kick your ass man" Hyde warned again, anger building in his chest.

"and I'm giving you one chance to back off before I kick YOUR ass Hyde!" kelso yelled, still incapable of using his 'indoor' voice.

"you know what? No! you dated her for a few months and cheated on her, it was your own fault but you haven't stopped bitching since day one of us being together, one last chance – walk away" Hyde growled,

"or what?" Kelso laughed confident that Hyde wouldn't really hurt him, he was wrong.

He shoved Hyde tauntingly twice, on the third shove kelso found himself on the ground with Hyde on top of him, raining down furious punches anywhere he could land them, it took Kelso a few moments to process he'd gone too far, but when he did he made an effort to fight back.

They were scuffling, rolling around on the floor yelling insults at each other when a loud voice screamed for them to stop, the commanding tone used wasn't one they could ignore.

When they stopped fighting and pulled away from each other and got to their feet, Jackie was standing at the foot of the stairs, arms crossed and looking none to impressed with either of them.

"what the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked dangerously quiet.

"uh...he said…and then I …" Hyde couldn't actually find the words to explain to his angry little bride why he'd been trying to beat kelso to a pulp?

"all I did was explain that you're my girl and Hyde needed to back off and he went crazy and totally over reacted and tried to kill me" Kelso claimed loudly

"you're girl? How the hell am I your girl Kelso?" Jackie asked looking confused

"simple, I had you first and Hyde claim jumped" kelso explained as if it were a scientific equation she didn't understand in its complexity.

"had me first?" Jackie repeated looking perplexed but not angry, more like she was trying to figure out what he was saying? Then realization dawned on her face. "oh right! We dated for a little while didn't we? Oh, my god, how funny!" she laughed

"how's that funny?" Kelso asked missing her point entirely

"because – how could you ever keep thinking that us dating for a few months over a year ago, still mattered at all? I dated Brian sobcheck in second grade longer than we were together and you don't see him here acting like a jackass, do you?" she said with scathing contempt

"I'm not your girl kelso, I never was and never will be, now get the hell out of here and knock this bonehead shit off before I tell Red what you've been doing, are – we – clear?" she asked dangerously, frankly even Hyde was a little frightened of her in that moment.

"but Jackie – "Kelso whined still not getting the hint.

"zip it moron! I'm getting married in three days – to Steven, not you, never you, thank god not you! Now get the hell out of here and I mean it!" she shrieked

Kelso finally sensed the impending danger and bolted out of the basement, leaving Hyde and Jackie alone staring at each other.

"fighting Steven?" Jackie asked with a sigh

"he had it coming" Hyde defended

"he always has it coming! He's a sleazebag in his sleep let alone when he's awake! What could he have possible done to make you mad enough to risk a black eye three days before we have to have our picture taken?! Is it shallow that I don't want wedding pictures with you looking like half a racoon?!" she cried throwing her hands in the air.

"shit! No that's not shallow doll, and I'm sorry I let him get to me, he just kept pushing me – literally, and I snapped" Hyde admitted

"well, this once time I'm going to let it slide because your face didn't get hit, and he was asking for it, but just know that in the future – I'm not ok with fighting" Jackie told him seriously

"noted, did you really forget you two went out before us?" he asked curiously

Jackie rolled her eyes "how could I forget how I found you Steven? No, I didn't forget, I just thought it would illustrate perfectly how little he means to me" she admitted

"nice" Hyde smirked approvingly

"whatever" she drawled in perfect imitation of his own Zen.

Jackie took him by the hand and led him back to his room, and when she shut the door pointed for him to sit down in his recently vacated chair. He was expecting her to yell at him for being stupid and immature when they both needed to work hard at growing up, seeing as they were going to be married living on their own soon.

"look doll, I am sorry and I won't lose my temper like that again" he cut her off hoping to earn some points before she got going.

"huh?" she asked looking startled "oh, I'm past that now Steven," she assured him, barely interested in the fight she'd just broken up.

"then what's up?" he asked concerned, mostly that she was ok, all the wedding crap her and Kitty were doing looked daunting to him.

"do you really want to marry me, or do you just feel bad for me because my parents abandoned me?" she asked in a small voice, he could see it had taken all her courage to ask him this and he had once chance and one chance only to make sure she knew the truth.

He pulled her unresistingly onto his lap and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, and gave her a look only she ever got.

"I'm not going to pretend that getting married while were in high school seems like the best plan I've ever had doll, but it's the only plan. It's going to be hard, and a lot of the time things are going to suck, but you and I are going to carve out a little piece of the world that just for us and maybe were starting early? But the way I look at it, the time frame doesn't matter, because any road we took was always going to lead to being together, think about it doll – even taking into account the rough start we had, have you ever doubted that were in this together?" he asked with uncharacteristic vulnerability, her answer could very well end him.

"Steven, I agreed to go out with you out of nowhere, did it ever occur to you that I did that because somehow being with you just felt, right?" she asked smiling tenderly at him

"that's my point Jackie, even if it seems crazy, being married isn't much different than we are now, all it does is ensure that no one can take you where you don't want to go, if you aren't sure about taking a step this big I swear ill figure out another option" he told her truthfully

"what if I want to marry you?" she asked shyly

"that would be good" he nodded thoughtfully "because I kind of want to marry you too" he admitted with a soft smile

"it's scary is all, what if it's too hard and we fall apart?" she asked in a small worried voice

"look, don't spread this around ok? But, I'm capable of working hard and making sure everything's going to be ok, there's never been a reason for me to bother but, I want to do it for you" he told her with a non chalant shrug to hide how deeply he meant what he said, he'd do anything for her.

"really?" she asked with wide amazed eyes

"really, I'm going to take care of you until you don't need me to, and then were going to be a team, I can't really think of a single thing that we can't handle together" he assured her comfortingly

"you know, you're really sweet when no one's looking" Jackie told him with a smile

"imagine when we live on our own" he grinned teasingly

"I'm afraid of that part too" Jackie admitted

"which part? Living on our own, or what married people do when they're alone?" he asked nervously, he wouldn't bug her to do anything she didn't want to, but he would be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to the perks of marriage.

"remembering to pay bills and stuff, being responsible and all that" Jackie told him looking a little embarrassed at what worried her, then she gave him a look "wait, are you worried that I'm afraid of sex?" she asked with the first real smile since they'd been talking.

"uh….no?" he lied poorly

"I've had sex with you before Steven, remember?" she pointed out with a smirk

"I have a vague recollection of that, but it was a long time ago" he teased with his own smirk

"was I that bad you can't even remember it?" she pouted, with huge eyes

"what?! No! no! no! I remember it, I remember it perfectly" he assured her adamantly

"good, hold onto that memory until Saturday night" she told him smugly

"you are an evil, evil woman" he told her flatly "and I like it"

"of course, you do" Jackie agreed

"but if you want to wait, it's cool" he added kindly

"really? You'd wait even after were married?" she was surprised by that to say the least

"I'd wait forever for you doll, if all I was after was getting laid id have made much different choices, I do want you – how could I not? You're beautiful, but that's not why I love you" he said reasonably

"you really do love me?" she asked looking for reassurance he was sure.

"yes Jackie, I really do love you and I have a feeling I always will, so please stop worrying and marry me on Saturday, please?" he said and sweetly as he knew how.

"I think I can do that" Jackie agreed and leaned down to kiss him

"I have confidence in you" he teased

A/N so here's another chapter when I thought I was done, I feel bad for thinking there was nothing left, let me know what you thought of it, because I've decided I like including more mushy conversations between Hyde and Jackie, but I don't know if that's something you all want to read? So, yay nay? Suggestions? Speak now or forever hold your piece (literally couldn't resist)


	8. Chapter 8

A/N it seems that if I want to get ideas for another chapter the trick is to say publicly that I'm done…. Because here we are, with another chapter when I said I'd maybe to an epilogue, my bad. Also, I own nothing just in case people actually think I own these characters, although to be fair I would have treated them with more respect than the people who actually called the shots.

If you asked people what their impression of Eric Forman was, brave wasn't usually on the top of the list. Neither was courageous, but he was mustering every bit of his courage to do what he was about to do. He had told Hyde that he'd look for someone to stand beside Jackie during the wedding ceremony so that he was able to stand beside his brother, the problem was he couldn't think of a damn option for who that could be!

There were hardly any people even attending, Jackie of all people had refused most of the people his mom had suggested as guests. She had vetoed the cheer squad, although they knew she was getting married somehow? Jackie didn't want anyone there that was going to be anything but happy for her and Hyde, which had also barred Kelso from attending on threat of Reds foot colliding with his ass. Hyde didn't want to admit it but, not having one of his best friends there bothered him more than he liked.

With a final muttered vow of bravery, Forman knocked on the door.

"yeah" a voice called out

Forman opened the door and walked in to face his fate – Jackie sitting at the vanity in a robe.

"Eric? What do you want?" she asked curiously, but much to his relief not annoyed that he was there.

"I was wondering if…it would be ok if…. donna could be your bridesmaid?" the words leaving his mouth caused a wave of nausea, and he knew it was a very, very bad idea what he'd just done.

Jackie stared back at him but he couldn't read her expression? She didn't look mad, or surprised or happy? All he could do was wait for her to speak and it was torture!

"what the hell are you talking about Eric?" Jackie asked with a raised eyebrow

"well, I asked Hyde if I could be his best man, and he said he wasn't going to have someone standing with him if you didn't have anyone with you, so I tried to find someone to be your bridesmaid but I couldn't – not that you're not popular! Just I couldn't find anyone…suitable? And I thought maybe since you've been friends so long it would be ok for Donna to be your bridesmaid?" he left the part 'so I can be Hyde's best man' unspoken.

"Eric, I'm sorry but I don't think that's going to work" Jackie told him with a kind smile

"look, I know she's been a pain lately, and she hasn't been too cool to you about a lot of stuff, but I think…. ok, I got nothing" he admitted with total defeat.

"Eric, I appreciate what you're trying to do and I don't mind if you stand with Steven when I don't have a bridesmaid, really I don't. you're his best friend and you should be a part of this, I don't need a bridesmaid, I don't need this to be a spectacle of a wedding because let's face it, Steven and I are in high school and its insane that were doing this at all. I don't want to have to defend our choice all day, I just want to have a nice time with the few people that understand why we're doing this, which doesn't include Donna, or didn't you hear that she's refusing to come?" Jackie asked with a smirk

"she's what?" Forman asked totally blindsided by this piece of news, he knew that she was saying some unkind things about the couple, but he hadn't yet heard that she was refusing to attend the wedding on what she called 'moral grounds'.

"don't worry about it Eric, she's entitled to her opinion, and I don't want anybody there that doesn't want to be there, I just want a nice little ceremony and some fricken cake afterwards!" Jackie exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air in the first show of stress about the wedding since Hyde had asked her to marry him.

"you know what? Your right, it's not anybody else's business what you two do, and you shouldn't have to explain yourselves, at least not today" Eric said adamantly

"thanks Eric" Jackie laughed, "look seriously, you are more than welcome to stand with Steven, I don't mind at all I promise, here, give him this note so he doesn't argue" she said, quickly scribbling something on a piece of paper and handing it to him.

Forman glanced at the note and gave Jackie a quizzical look "this says don't be a dumbass" he said with a grin

"its words to live by Eric, now go!" she ordered firmly and laughed as he scurried away to do as she'd said.

On his way from Laurie's old room to Hyde's subterranean lair, Forman ran directly into the one person he didn't feel like dealing with at that particular moment – donna.

"where are you off to in such a rush?" she asked with an amused smile

"uh, I had something to talk to Hyde about" he answered with guarded honesty, hoping to avoid giving her an opening to start in on his friends again, he just wasn't in the mood at the moment.

"are you going to try and talk some sense in to him?" she asked with a shake of her head.

"no, more like – asking to be his best man" Forman admitted bluntly.

"but were not going Eric" donna stated with certainty

"donna, Hyde's my oldest friend and Jackie's my friend too, I'm not missing their wedding" Forman told her firmly

"yes, you are Eric! We need to make a statement that we think what they're doing is a bad idea and is going to bring them nothing but trouble, how can you even think of supporting this insane idea?!" she shouted at him

"the same way Jackie was the only one who supported me asking you to marry me, the same way Hyde was the one who supported me not giving up on you when we broke up, I'm going to go and watch two of my best friends promise to always be there for each other, which is something I'm starting to think we'll never be able to do" he said with quiet anger

"what are you talking about Eric?" donna asked sounding frightened

"I love you donna, I really do, but do you even remember what made us break up?" he asked with a hint of sadness

"what does that matter? All that matters is were back together now and were ready to commit to spending the rest of our lives together" donna said, beginning to look very upset about what he might be implying.

"it does matter donna, and tomorrow were going to have a long talk about what we both see for our future, but today isn't about us, today you are going to go put on your nice dress, and march up to Laurie's old room and beg Jackie to come to her wedding because she has ALWAYS been there for you and you want to be there for her!" Eric demanded more forcefully than he'd ever spoken to donna before.

But he was done with her double standard, she and he weren't better than Jackie and Hyde, they had no more right to marry young than they did, in fact from what he could tell, Jackie and Hyde had a much more realistic idea of what getting married so young meant.

"Eric, I can't do that" donna said looking almost stricken

"why not donna? Because you'll have to say sorry? Because you'll have to say you were wrong? Or because you'll have to admit that you're not better than Jackie?! Which is something I know you can't stand to admit. Look, I've spent most of my life bending over backwards to make you happy, this one time – one damn time! – I'm asking you to do something, something you should have done on you own already, I don't think it's too much, honestly, I don't think its anywhere near enough! So, are you going to go talk to her or not?" Forman demanded trying very hard to control his temper.

"I'm not wrong Eric!" donna argued, as always reluctant to admit she was wrong.

"yes, you are. Last chance donna, are you going to do the right thing or not?" he asked sternly

"it's not the right thing Eric, they're just setting themselves up for failure, Hyde doesn't even love Jackie, he's just been using her to get to me!" she shouted exasperated that he couldn't see reality that it was all a sham.

Forman stared pointedly at donna until he saw the realization of what she'd said finally dawned on her.

"not that I want him to" she added hastily

"oh donna, that's a whole other conversation, and believe me we will have it, but not today. As I already said, today is not about us." He said calmly, and turned to go find Hyde as he'd originally intended, but turned again to his gaping fiancé "it kind of sickens me that I've put you ahead of everything else in my life time and time again, and yet it's still not enough attention for you." He said in a voice heavily tinged with disgust.

"you told me you were willing to do whatever it took to be together, what happened to that huh?!" donna accused angrily, as if he had broken a promise.

"I grew up donna, you should think about doing the same" he said honestly and left before she could perpetuate the fight.

Donna was left standing in the Forman's kitchen, reeling at what Eric had said and left unsaid, she was frozen in place unsure what to do?

"oh honey, I know it hurts but the truth usually does, ah ha ha ha ha" Kitty Forman said from the doorway.

"were you eavesdropping?" donna asked accusingly

"donna, you're in my house talking in my kitchen, if you don't want people to hear what you're saying you should talk at your own house, now are you going to go and talk to Jackie like Eric wants?" she asked pointedly,

"what's with all of you thinking I have something to apologize for?!" donna snapped defensively

"because when you treat people poorly its just manners to apologize, and with the way you've been acting you're lucky red still lets you in the house" kitty told her bluntly

"what?!" donna said shocked in a way only the very self-centered can be.

"don't pretend to be so confused donna, I've known you since you were five years old and I know when you're lying, you know perfectly well what you've done – what you've been doing for some time – and you also know that it's not at all ok, I agree with Eric, you owe Jackie and apology, but it has to be real and I don't know if you understand how to do that?" she said with a stern look

"because I'm not wrong" she claimed adamantly

"yes donna, you are" kitty said calmly "you have no right to behave the way you have been, I'm not sure an apology is even enough at this point"

"I can't show up to a wedding when I know it's a terrible idea, I can't pretend to support something like this, I don't know how you can?" donna said, using her 'I'm so mature' tone

"now stop right there" kitty said turning her full attention to the incensed red head "I've turned the other cheek to a lot of cruel cold-hearted things you've said and done over the years, because I wanted to believe that under all the selfish acts you were still the sweet little girl I knew, but it's getting harder to believe that. In this instance and a whole lot of others, you are wrong." kitty said in a no nonsense way that her son and husband would have recognized easily, but donna never knew when to quit.

"no offense Mrs. Forman, but I think I understand what's going on with Jackie and Hyde a little better than you do" donna claimed pompously

"no offense honey" kitty began coolly "but that's a load of bull" she informed the neighbor girl bluntly

"Steven cares for Jackie in a way he never did you, he loves that girl and when he saw that she had been deserted by her parents, he stepped up and chose to change his whole life – his whole attitude, to make sure that she was cared for, not because of guilt, but because he loves her very much. You are going to find out very soon how easy it is for them to forget people that make their new life harder, so you get to make up your mind whether you want to be listed as a hindrance? Or as a help?" kitty laid out for donna without codling.

Leaving Donna with a lot to think about, Kitty left the kitchen to check on everyone's progress.

Not much later donna was reluctantly climbing the stairs to speak to Jackie, a seed of doubt had begun to take root, that maybe – just maybe – she didn't have the support to continue acting about Jackie and Hyde as she had been? It's easy to be righteous when you have others on the same side, but even Kelso wasn't boycotting the wedding, sure he'd been banned, but he was upset about it now that it had dawned on him that Jackie was with Hyde like she'd never been with him, he was just slow on the uptake.

Donna knocked on the door to Laurie's old room and waited for an answer.

"just a second!" Jackie called in an edgy voice, the sound of several drawers closing followed, then a call to come in.

When donna entered the room, Jackie looked surprised to see her there, mostly because she hadn't spoken to her since Donna's lame attempt at offering her a place to stay.

"uh, hi Jackie" Donna said nervously

"hello" Jackie replied suspiciously, she had no idea why donna was there?

"so, um, I" donna stopped and took a deep breath "I wanted to say I was sorry for being a bitch and that I would really like to come to your wedding" she said as apologetically as she was able to

"sure" Jackie replied with a shrug, seeming indifferent to the rare apology

Donna was stunned "that's it? 'sure', that's all you have to say to me?" donna simply couldn't believe it

Jackie turned to her with a smirk "there it is" she murmured almost to herself, she'd figured donna couldn't handle being contrite very long, it was only a matter of time before the other shoe dropped.

"I came to apologize and you're acting like it doesn't even matter! Do you have any idea how hard it was to come here and ask to come to this ridiculous wedding?!" she snapped

"about as hard as its been to not make you look like an idiot all these years, I appreciate the effort donna, now run along, I have a 'ridiculous wedding' to get ready for" she said smiling serenely

"Jackie, you can't do this, it's insane for you and Hyde to get married. Neither of you are ready for this kind of responsibility, you got together as some kind of scam and you barely know each other for real" she snapped adamantly at the tiny brunette in the bathrobe.

"donna, please just stop" Jackie said, rubbing her temples "it was one thing when you were being a total bitch, I could deal with that, but this pathetic attempt of acting like you know anything about me and Steven is so incredibly stupid it's hard to even listen to" Jackie told her friend firmly

"I've known Hyde a lot longer than you have Jackie, he's not a commitment kind of guy, he's going to get bored of you and you're going to be left on your own in a terrible situation." Donna told her sure of what she said.

"will I now?" a curious voice asked from the closet.

The color drained out of donna's face as the door opened and Hyde walked out looking amused.

"why were you in there?" donna asked nervously

"I missed jacks and didn't want Red to find me, so I hid, but I got to hear the crap you were just trying to sell, so that was a bonus" he shrugged amiably, he wasn't mad to be honest, more just tired of the whole thing already and was really looking forward to living at the hotel where there would be a lot less foot traffic than at the Forman's.

Donna was speechless as Hyde was the one person who could and would, call her out on her bullshit and wasn't afraid of her at all.

"look, I'm sorry, I was just upset I didn't mean any of that Jackie" donna lied quickly to avoid any trouble

"normally id point out all the flaws in your amateurish lie donna, but I'm in a good mood today so we'll just leave it at this – you will attend our wedding with your dad so that he doesn't have to choose between being the sweet man he is and keeping you happy, and while you're there you will smile like you're not a selfish brat, and in return I won't tell Forman about what happened on your road trip with Kelso" Jackie offered with an evil lilt in her voice.

"h-how do you…?" donna stammered

"how do I know about that? I'm fucking psychic" Jackie drawled coldly, and remained stony faced until donna left without another word.

"what just happened there?" Hyde asked curiously

"I told you I'm fucking psychic" Jackie smirked

"uh-huh, and I'm starting to think I shouldn't have lifted the X-Men comics ban as early as I did" Hyde replied thoughtfully

"no, no, no, lifting the ban was the right choice" Jackie assured him

"and I totally trust your judgment on this" he laughed

"I'm the best there is as what I do Steven, but what I do isn't very nice" Jackie stated with a smirk

"I never should have encouraged you and Forman to bond, now I have a chick who quotes wolverine" Hyde sighed good naturedly,

"you'd miss it if I stopped, now get out of here so I can get ready for real!" she ordered with a giggle, then the sound of the stairs squeaking made them both freeze,

"crap! I got to go doll" Hyde whispered in a rush and ducked out of the room before either Red or Kitty caught him breaking wedding day tradition.

He made it back to his room without being caught by the Forman's, and fell into his chair panting, he knew he should have been able to stay away from Jackie for one day, but when he'd woken up that morning he couldn't shake the feeling of needing to see her.

So, he'd snuck past Red and Kitty and climbed noiselessly up the stairs and slipped into her room, to do nothing more than sit and talk to her for a while. Witnessing donna's 'apology' had been coincidental, but he was glad he'd gotten to scare the crap out of her like he had, remembering how into her he'd been before he was with Jackie made him feel sick and ashamed now that he knew what she was really like.

"best random idea ever" he said to himself when he thought of how he'd asked Jackie out during that dark time.

He checked his watch and saw that it was getting down to the wire and even though he didn't need as much time as Jackie did to dress, he still should probably allow enough time to put on deodorant.

Hyde had refused to wear a tux or even a suit, and surprisingly Jackie had been fine with his choice, even while refusing to let him see the dress she'd picked out hanging on a hanger. He pulled his black slacks on and buttoned his gray shirt and then put his black vest over it, he looked at the tie Red had suggested and decided to 'forget' the tie.

Tucking his scribbled vows into his pocket, Hyde headed to his car and drove to the hotel where the wedding would be held. Roy had offered to let them use the banquet room for free and just put on the books that it had been closed for routine pest inspection, Hyde liked the idea of giving Jackie a wedding that wasn't held in a house they spent all their time at and Red liked the idea of not having people he wasn't obligated to put up with in his house, it was win-win.

The large room was decorated with surprising taste and restraint considering the two responsible for it, and as he gazed around at the pale pink flowers and white table cloths it began to hit him for real that he was about to get married to Jackie.

"forever" he murmured to himself softly, and couldn't help but smile, he could handle forever if it was with Jackie, at the very least life would never be dull.

Jackie rode with the Forman's in the Toyota while Eric made last minute runs for things like cups and chips. Her dress still a mystery under her coat and her hair covered in a red kerchief, she could hardly keep herself from bouncing and clapping like a little kid. She was about to marry Steven and she could hardly wait, she'd never felt wanted before but, Steven changed that.

"ok, I got the cups and three kinds of chips, can we get this show on the road now?" Eric asked, striding into the banquet room and joining his parents and Fez, there were a few people milling around as well but not nearly as many as he'd expected considering how social Jackie was?

"when's everyone else getting here?" he asked his mom curiously

"they are here, Jackie didn't want to invite anyone who wouldn't be legitimately happy for them, and Hyde didn't want to invite anyone who'd caused trouble, so what you see is who you get" Red explained blankly, the urge to kick the ass of each of their family's - member by member - was strong with him.

"uh, ok then…. can we start?" Eric asked awkwardly

"we've just been waiting for you dumbass" Red growled irritably

"Red" Kitty said warningly "go find your seats boys and I'll go tell them it's time" Kitty said kindly

"yeah, I was really hoping to be up there with Hyde, but I couldn't find a bridesmaid for Jackie and Hyde said if she was standing alone he would be too" Eric sighed disappointedly

"Eric, do you mean to tell me that my darling goddess needed a friend and attendant and you did not think to ask Fez?!" Fez asked with narrowed eyes

"uh, yeah buddy 'cus it's called a brides 'maid', not a brides …. guy? yeah, that didn't come together like I'd hoped" Eric mused

"don't condescend to me you son of a bitch! I will stand beside my dear Jackie and you, you can stand by Hyde and shield your eyes from our combined glory!" Fez shouted proudly and marched purposefully to the modest alter where pasture Dave stood patiently, and stepped defiantly into the maid of honors traditional spot, a few raised eyebrows and everyone decided to let it pass without comment.

Eric grinned happily and was about to go stand opposite of Fez when he caught sight of his parents heading towards the seats in the front, or to be precise – his dad.

"dad, where are you going?" Eric asked sounding confused

"to my chair" Red answered blankly, wondering if his son was on dope?

"but, if you're sitting there who's going to walk Jackie down the aisle?" he asked innocently

"I could do it" Bob offered cheerfully, making Red stop and stare at him.

"go sit down Bob!" Red shouted, then cleared his throat awkwardly and assumed a bored expression "I suppose I could do that since her dad can't be here" he said in an overly casual tone and marched to the door of the room Jackie was in before anyone could mention his behavior.

Hyde took a deep breath and walked from the bathroom he'd been hiding in to avoid talking to people, to his place at the altar, he was momentarily surprised to see Fez standing directly across from Forman, but it passed quickly when he thought of how good a friend he always was to Jackie under guise of having a crush on her, a crush that Hyde had found out was nothing but a cover for something else.

"how're you feeling?" Forman whispered as the music began, signaling Jackie's impending arrival.

"pretty good, but I'll be better soon" Hyde answered, his eyes glued to the door beginning to open, his heart hammering against his ribs as he held his breath waiting to catch the first glimpse of her.

She did not disappoint.

In a somewhat plain white sundress that fell to her knees and pale pink high heels, her hair down in loose curls, Jackie stepped out to make the walk towards Hyde, if she faltered when Red met her and held out his arm it wasn't for long and the smile that lit her face when the gruff old man was there for her, was dazzling, and Hyde felt his throat go much dryer than he preferred.

Jackie beamed at the few people there as she walked at the traditional measured pace on Reds arm, when they reached Hyde and the others Red gave him a very stern look and mouthed the word 'foot'? Hyde nodded once that he understood, and turned his attention fully on Jackie who just smiled shyly back at him.

They half listened to pasture Dave as he talked of love, commitment and a lot of other things they didn't feel like hearing about just then. Finally, Eric elbowed Hyde to draw his attention back to the pasture, as it was his time to speak.

Hyde took a breath and looked Jackie straight in the eyes, and prayed like never before that his voice wouldn't crack when he managed to speak.

"uh, so…um, Jackie I-I love you, and I swear that I won't screw up or bail – what I mean is, I promise I'll do whatever it takes- whatever is needed to make sure you are always safe and happy, and I'll be there no matter what for as long as I live" Hyde vowed quietly, but none the less firm.

Jackie smiled at him softly, then bit her lip as pasture Dave called on her to speak.

"Steven, you've always been there for me and I know you always will be, and I want you to know that I'll always be there for you too because I love you madly, and we will be a team forever and always" she said fervently.

It was all real then, he had just promised to be with her forever and she had promised the same thing back, there was no going back now.

In a daze Hyde leaned in to kiss her when pasture Dave said it was time, and when his lips touched hers he felt his heart stutter just as he felt Jackie's breath catch.

It was real.

They were married.

She was his wife.

He tried to laugh and talk with their friends and family afterwards during the reception, but his mind was on other things, all he wanted was to be alone with Jackie but that didn't seem too likely given how much fun she appeared to be having. Just when he was figuring he was stuck for another hour at least, Jackie appeared at his elbow and laid her head on his shoulder.

"you tired doll?" he asked softly

"uh huh" she said with a yawn

"too bad we can't go to the room now huh?" Hyde joked low enough that only Jackie heard

"why can't we?" she asked seriously

"uh, because they'll be pissed we disappeared?" he said gesturing towards the few people there eating and laughing.

"they'll survive, come on – lets go" she said seriously and grabbed his hand to lead him covertly out of the room and down a hallway, until he stopped her.

"our place is the other way" he explained when she gave him a quizzical look.

"our place, we have a place….im not sure whether I'm excited or terrified?" Jackie said in an awed tone

"let's go with excited" Hyde suggested thoughtfully and pulled her in the right direction with a smirk.

Roy had offered the hotels honey moon suit for the night, but Hyde had declined, he figured they might as well get used to their new home under happy circumstances just in case it was awful.

"ok, this is it Jackie – our home for the foreseeable future…here's hoping it doesn't suck too bad" he said nervously, it would be just his luck that it would be a rat-infested crap hole and Jackie would probably turn around and ask for an annulment the moment she got a look at it.

Jackie just laughed at his worried tone and waved him to open the door.

It wasn't much, but it wasn't too bad either, a kitchenette and living room area, a bathroom and a small bedroom. Definitely a step up for Hyde but a massive down grade for Jackie, and he looked apprehensively to her to see the level of disgust she felt for their new digs.

He let out a sigh of relief he hadn't known he was holding when he saw that her face didn't look anything but interested.

"uh, so what do you think?" he asked as casually as he could manage.

"I think it's better than the basement" she replied with a shrug

"something that can also be said of truck stops" Hyde pointed out dryly

"whatever, you love that dingy basement Steven" Jackie laughed, then began walking around the little apartment curiously, she didn't wrinkle her nose at anything, which Hyde took to be a positive sign, Jackie was many things but someone who held back her views – she was not.

"I know it's no mansion doll, but it won't be too bad for a while" Hyde said apologetically, feeling like he'd failed her.

"I actually kind of like it Steven" Jackie said in an absent but serious tone, she was surveying the room carefully, planning where their belongings would go.

"you do?" he asked, surprised to say the least

"well, I'm not saying I want to spend my whole life here, but it's fairly clean and cozy not cramped, there're windows so it's not too gloomy and since there's only two of us it'll be just fine for now" she explained her thinking to him.

"that's a relief, I was worried it wouldn't seem livable after your parents' house" he let slip his honest thoughts before he could stop himself, and froze in horror, staring wide eyed at Jackie as he tensed for impact.

There was no way she was going to take a comment about her privileged life without retaliation, she was very sensitive about the whole thing now that her dad had been exposed as a crook, the last mention of her wealthy upbringing had resulted in tears and that wasn't how he wanted to spend his wedding night to be perfectly honest.

Jackie's eyes narrowed and her arms crossed, and Hyde gulped.

"let me make myself perfectly clear Steven, because I don't want this to become a recurring theme." She began seriously "if I wanted to live in that house I would be, don't you dare – for even one second! – doubt the reason I'm here! It is not out of necessity Steven, I am capable of staying in that house on my own if I had to. But I don't want to, I want to be you, I want to be a team, but if even a tiny part of you still thinks of me as a spoiled brat I don't think we'll get too far" she told him with the grave maturity he was fairly certain he alone had seen her display.

"appreciated doll, but in my defense, I was sort of just referring to the difference in quality of housing" he pointed out mildly

"oh…. yeah it doesn't bother me" Jackie supplied awkwardly

"so…are you tired? Do you want to turn in?" he knew it would be hard to get his foot much further into his mouth but standing four feet apart, looking around their new home was getting dull and he didn't know how much longer he could keep up being interested in the place?

"Steven Hyde, trying to get me into bed already!" she said feigning shock

"what?! No I didn't mean that! I meant if you're tired…you're messing me, aren't you?" he realized half way to freaking out.

"totally" she admitted with a nod and a grin.

Hyde laughed and pulled her against his chest "you're lucky I love you doll" he teased softly

"I'm aware of that" Jackie agreed, smiling into his shirt "I love you too Steven" she murmured

"I'm sort of glad you do, I'm sort of glad you didn't cut your losses the first time I screwed up, I'm really glad you didn't the next few times, and I'm…. are you trying to unbuckle my belt?" he stopped mid speech to look at her questioningly and was met by a smirk.

"don't worry about it, continue with what you were saying" Jackie prompted casually, while blatantly struggling with his belt buckle.

"kind of forgot what I was saying" Hyde admitted, more than a little distracted by her actions.

"that's a shame" Jackie said with feigned regret "guess you'll have to tell me later"

"I'm getting the sense you're bored with conversation?" Hyde teased with his own smirk

"what gave it away?" Jackie asked with wide eyed innocence "now since you're done talking about our past, could you be a dear and undo this damn belt! Its thwarting my efforts!" she grumbled angrily while still trying to pull the stubborn hook from its hole.

"thwarting? Did you just use the word thwarting?" he couldn't help but laugh

"first word that came to mind, also, not the issue! Are you going to help me or not?" she demanded bluntly, and stared expectantly while he dutifully (and with ease of practice) unfastened the adversarial buckle and looked to Jackie.

"so, um…what do you want to do now?" he felt a lot less sure than he usually did, and he had no idea what he should or shouldn't be doing?

Jackie snorted and rolled her eyes, before boldly letting her dress fall to the floor. She stood staring calmly at him in her underwear, while he tried to remember how breathing worked.

"we could play cards, Gin ill spot you twenty points?" he rambled in a dazed tone, unaware what he was saying as he gaped at her without blinking.

"stop talking now Steven" Jackie ordered sweetly, but he could see that her confidence was fading with every second he didn't react.

"yes, talking – over rated" he agreed, still staring at her with something close to awe before his mind finally thawed enough for him to move.

"well, not always- "Jackie began to say, but was interrupted by Hyde picking her up effortlessly and carried her into their room, kissing her the whole way.

A/N that's all for now, more to come later, such as Hyde and Kelso talk without hitting each other, Eric and Donna have a talk and possibly more? Suggestions welcome!


End file.
